If you’re trying to find counselling for children in Pakenham, Better Place Australia can help you. Our counselling rooms are located right here in Pakenham at Pakenham Springs Children’s Centre, 5 Livingstone Blvd. If you’re coming by car, the centre is easily accessible via the M1 Princes Highway and Macgregor Road. You should find there is easy parking outside the Centre or across Heritage Boulevard at the Heritage Shopping Centre.
If you need child counselling and you’re not in Pakenham, Better Place Australia child counselling in Melbourne has numerous locations across Greater Melbourne.
These are:
- Â Broadmeadows
- Â Cheltenham
- Â Croydon
- Â Melton
- Â Narre Warren
- Â Oakleigh
- Â Pakenham (Springs Centre)
- Â Wyndham Vale
Better Place Australia counselling for children in Pakenham helps improve well-being
Parents want their children to maintain optimal health and well-being as they grow. If a child is struggling with any life issues, seek the services of Better Place Australia counselling for children in Pakenham. Our child counsellors are caring and qualified, and empower children to manage challenges in a positive way.
Some challenges could be:
- a change of school
- family conflict
- loss and grief
- peer pressure
- puberty
- any other issue that may be having a negative effect on the child’s mental health and well-being.
By seeking child counselling early for your child, it can help prevent issues from escalating.
What happens during a child counselling session?
Better Place Australia professional child counselling is conducted one-on-one in a safe space with a qualified child counsellor. The child will be empowered with tools to face the challenges and manage them in a positive manner.
It starts with the counsellor assessing the child’s individual needs. Based on the child’s age and capacity, the counsellor incorporates an age-related technique to explore the issues. There are several techniques that can be used, including cognitive behaviour therapy, narrative or play therapy.
These techniques can help the child to:
- use coping skills
- express their feelings in a safe place
- manage strong emotions such as blame, guilt and anger
- learn how to express themselves and relate positively to others
- understand their family and friend relationships as they are now and how they change
- develop resilience and improve emotional stability.
It is also important for parents to be proactive in their child’s life.
Why should parents be proactive?
Parents face issues in life as well. The problem is, when parents are constantly in conflict in front of children, it can cause more harm to the child than actual separation or divorce. Parental conflict is just one challenge a child can face. We encourage parents to be vigilant in protecting their child.
Proactive steps include:
- listening to how the child feels about things
- putting the interests of the child first during decision-making
- ensuring both parents have meaningful involvement in their child’s life
- keeping parental conflict away from the child as much as possible.
The outcome of Better Place Australia child counselling
Every child is different and deals with issues and changes in different ways. Some cope better than others. The aim of Better Place Australia counselling for children in Pakenham is for all children to be resilient and manage challenges in a positive way.
Better Place Australia child counselling empowers children with the following skills:
- an increased ability to better understand and manage feelings
- decreased levels of distress and challenging behaviours
- improved communication and problem solving
- increased ability to trust and form healthy relationships.
If you’re looking for child counselling in Melbourne and are able to get to Pakenham or one of our other child counselling locations, please contact Better Place Australia.
Learn more about the mental health and well-being of your child
If you’d like to learn more about mental health and well-being in children and family units, visit the Centre for Better Relationships website.
Centre for Better Relationships is the research and advocacy arm of Better Place Australia, with resources for you to learn more.
Read sector news articles such as: Understanding Child Development; and Highlighting the Imperative of Investing in Children and Young People’s Safety.
There are also learning videos you can watch, such as: Preventing Emotional Abuse of Children; Supporting Children Who Have Disclosed Trauma; The Whole Child; and The Role of Parents Preventing Emotional Abuse of Children.
By learning more, you will be better equipped to protect your children and support them during tough times.
