Every parent has that feeling, and knows that feeling, that something is off with their child. Maybe their child has gone quiet, and is no longer talking. Their child is battling just to get out of bed. Maybe their child has recently started to withdraw from activities that they used to enjoy.
Recognising that something is wrong is usually the easiest part. Knowing how to go about addressing it is usually the more difficult part.
One of the ways that you can help your child deal with it and get the support that they need from a professional is to child and adolescent counselling. Within their services, they include the help of both student clinicians and registered psychologists, and the services include family therapy, individual therapy, and parent support.
What Can The Counselling Help With?
There are many reasons a child may be struggling, and Cairnmillar’s clinicians assist with many issues, including:
Anxiety- constant concerns, day-to-day fears, or behaviors to avoid certain circumstances.
Low mood- extended periods of sadness, a mentally “flat” state, or emotional withdrawal.
School refusal– means a child has extreme difficulty with either attending school or staying at school throughout the school day.
Factors affecting children and young people’s mental health are many and varied, and can include: problems with sleep, difficult behaviour (anger, defiance, or trouble controlling their behaviour), questioning their gender/sexuality, eating disorders and negative body image, post-traumatic stress disorder, social isolation, conflict in the family (triangulation) and other trauma.
Please get in touch with the clinic if you have concerns about your child that you are unsure of what area they may relate to.
Who Will My Child See?
Registered psychologists and student clinicians, under practitioner supervision, offer therapy at the Cairnmillar service.
Practitioners at Cairnmillar are qualified psychologists and instructors in practical fields. Each of the practical instructors does supervision of the clinicians.
Registered practitioners at Cairnmillar who are in direct contact with children are Clinical Psychologists, Senior Psychologists and Educational and Developmental Psychologists. Cairnmillar prioritizes assigning clients to professionals based on the latter’s expertise and fields of interest.
Clients of different ages have different processes to follow. This is so for clients of different ages.
Kids 14 and under: For the first session, a parent or legal guardian must come without the child so the clinician can obtain some extensive history before the young person is met.
Teens aged: The first session is the only one during which parents/guardians may accompany the minor.
Aged 17 and above: It is compulsory for young adults to attend their first meeting.
Is there any help for the parents at Cairnmillar?
Definitely. In addition to direct therapy for young people, Cairnmillar also periodically runs groups for parents, which are facilitated by Cairnmillar psychologists. Current group and program information is available on the Groups and Programs page of the Cairnmillar site.
How much does it cost?
Registered clinicians provide paid services, while Cairnmillar’s Community Clinic offers free counselling through supervised student clinicians in practicum.
Medicare rebates can be claimed for some services. For children under 14, there needs to be an alternative claimant to claim the rebates — this is usually a parent or legal guardian. There are sections on the clinic’s registration form for this. For children aged 15 and older, a parent/guardian is not required. However, if a parent/guardian is paying the medical fees, they may want to provide their information so the claim rebate can be direct deposited to them.
For information about fees, rebates and the cancellation policy, look at the Fees & Rebates section on the Cairnmillar website.
How to book
Request an appointment at cairnmillar.org.au. After that, a member of the clinical admin team will reach out to you for the triage process. You can also do this by calling 1800391393.
FAQs
What age group does this service cover?
Cairnmillar caters to therapists for children and young people aged 4 – 18 years.
Do I have to be there for the first session with my child?
For children 14 years and under, yes – parents or guardians have to be with the child. For children 15 to 16 years, their presence is optional.
What does consent mean?
Consent is usually provided by a mother, father, or guardian. However, children under 18 can still keep confidentiality to a certain extent if the practitioner believes the child is able to give informed consent, meaning they understand what they are agreeing to. At Cairnmillar, we always recommend young people to take their parent/s where this is possible.
What happens if the parents are separated or divorced?
Cairnmillar requires both parents to provide consent unless there is a court order stating that only one parent has parental responsibility for the purposes of medical decisions. Relevant court orders should be uploaded to the online registration form.
Can I have my child assessed, instead of being counselled?
Yes. Cairnmillar provides cognitive and other psychological assessments. Further information can be located on their website’s Assessments page.