Therapy and help for children and adolescents with behavioral problems

introduction

Behavioral problems are not a physical or mental illness as such, but they can put a massive strain on the child and those around him. Without professional help, many children suffer from symptoms in their development and school performance, which can lead to problems later in adult and professional life. The treatment focuses on behavioral and psychotherapies that involve the family and possibly also the teachers and thus train the child and their environment.

Read more on the topic: psychotherapy

Who offers therapies?

Help is offered from many different sources, for example from educators and teachers, from school psychologists, from private parent groups, but also from doctors and child psychologists or psychotherapists, who can usually carry out the most competent treatment. Basically, depending on the cause of the behavior disorder, different approaches make sense and can be carried out by different bodies. Not every provider is sufficiently professional, which is why the first point of contact should be a specialized doctor, psychologist / psychotherapist or an experienced educator.

If the behavioral problems are only slightly pronounced, it may be sufficient to train the parents and educators or teachers, who then treat the child with their own behavioral measures; in more severe cases, the whole family receives psychotherapeutic care. In the event of escalation, the children can also be treated as an inpatient; therapy is then carried out by specialized clinics.

Which doctor is responsible for children and adolescents with behavioral problems?

In general, the pediatrician can initiate treatment, but in most cases refers to child psychologists, psychiatrists or psychotherapists. Depending on the severity of the behavioral disorder, these specialists are the right contact person and carry out precise diagnostics and competent therapy. In addition, alternative practitioners, osteopaths or other alternative medical professionals can provide help.

How can you support children and young people with behavioral problems?

Children discard their behavioral problems when positive behavior is encouraged instead of negative ones punished. That doesn't mean that undesirable behavior should simply be accepted. Clear rules are laid down and consequences are drawn if these rules are exceeded. However, it must be made clear to the children that they do not get what they want through conspicuous behavior. Parents and educators must show them the advantages of appropriate behavior that they otherwise miss or can be withdrawn from, such as participation in community activities.
Even if it is difficult, the adults have to focus on the child's abilities and talents instead of reducing it to their negative behavior and as "Problem child“To be stamped. Often these children and adolescents encounter much more rejection than confirmation, as a result of which their behavioral problems are increased and they lose motivation for positive behavior. In order to ensure efficient support, the child must therefore be dealt with in detail and his strengths worked out. Based on their talents, the child can then take on different roles in a social group, e.g. as part of a soccer team, band or youth group. This aims to strengthen self-esteem and should encourage the child to develop new behaviors on their own.

Unfortunately, many adults feel overwhelmed and become impatient. A constructive conversation cannot develop in this way, especially if the relationship with the child has been problematic for a long time and the behavior is deeply anchored. The principles of dealing with children and adolescents with behavioral problems are therefore to remain calm, set clear rules and implement consequences, praise positive behavior and encourage independent behavior. Unfortunately, there is usually no noticeable effect immediately. As long as the adults stick with it, however, the chances of success are high, as children are clever and quickly embrace change to their advantage. However, this support only makes sense if parents and teachers or other adult caregivers of the child support each other and provide uniform rules. Training the parents and teachers is therefore always first and foremost to support the child.

How can you integrate children and young people in school?

Promotion and integration go hand in hand, the principles are therefore the same as already described, first and foremost the calm but determined approach and the setting and enforcement of simple, clear rules. In order to integrate a child successfully, on the one hand it must be treated like everyone else, i.e. the same rules apply to everyone, on the other hand efforts must be recognized and appreciated earlier and more extensively in order to promote positive behavior and the child's self-esteem. It is also important to get to the bottom of the behavior disorder. Any conspicuous behavior is an expression of a feeling or a conflict and is an indication of what the child actually wants. For example, aggression and violence can be a child's way of dealing with displeasure about their lack of popularity with other children. Children who damage school supplies or riot in the classroom can thus give an outlet to their fear of failure and the pressure to perform.

Self-harming behavior is shown by children who want to escape their inner pressures. This means that every conspicuous behavior makes sense for the child at the moment, even if it is counterproductive for their own wishes in the long term. For a successful integration it is important to get to know the children and to be able to interpret such signs. If the cause can be inferred in this way, it can be eliminated or at least alleviated. Encouraging joint activities and integrating the affected child into the class is also essential. Many of the children with behavioral problems are used to the role of outsiders and have to get to know the advantages of a large circle of friends and group cohesion first. Bullying and exclusion of any kind must therefore be prevented at a school that wants to integrate children with behavioral problems. The role of classmates should not be underestimated either. Conspicuous behavior only comes about through the reactions of people of the same age. If the class structure is good and the children are open to newcomers, they are the most important part of the child's integration. The goals of integration are therefore to find the cause of the conspicuous behavior and to eliminate it, to fulfill the actual wishes of the child, to offer an open-minded environment and to show the advantages of belonging to a group.

Can a behavioral problem be an indication of giftedness?

Almost all gifted children sooner or later have problems with other children and in school. Their classmates exclude them because of their special nature, as they behave strangely in their eyes. The school material bores them and they start to do other things and eventually disrupt the class. Thus, most gifted children show conspicuous behavior that is often noticed even before gifted children. In these cases, the abnormal behavior is actually an indication of a particularly pronounced intelligence. However, since giftedness is rare, it only occurs in a very small number of the many children with behavioral problems.If the child has already shown signs of special talent, for example particularly fast learning to speak, read and write or other accelerated developmental steps, a giftedness should be clarified. However, if there are no other signs besides behavioral problems, giftedness is very unlikely.