Putting the fun in therapy...

One of the constant joys of being a counsellor is working with children;

getting to use the best of who I am, as an adult and a geek and a tiggerific big kid to help them come to a better understanding of themselves, of the people in their lives and the things that have happened to them.

In my case this involves being willing to be as serious as is needed, but also as silly as needed too!

The core of working with children for me is being relatable and someone they can trust, someone who they know is an adult whose only agenda (aside from the limits of confidentiality) is being with them for an hour a week and helping them figure things out.

Sometimes kids are scared to talk; no other adult is just 'there' - which is as it should be, every other adult in their lives has either an idea of what is 'best' for the child, or may have been responsible for, associated with, or protected by the child from some of the trauma the child has experienced. The child might expect the counsellor to only want to talk about scary stuff but actually we will try to work at a pace the child feels safe with.

The counsellor can offer a uniquely adult insight into events, thoughts, feelings, the behaviours of other people, and can 'normalise' things for the child, but can also help the child with being silly, having fun, being free and making their own choices (within reason) and thereby building their self-esteem and capacity for self-regulation.

So very much counselling children is one of the #joysofthejob for me!