Understanding Therapy for Children

Children can struggle with their socialization skills, emotion regulation, self-esteem, and resilience. Therapy can help people with multiple personality types and help them figure out the most efficient pathway. Parenting can be very hard, especially when it comes to trying to make sense of a child’s behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. 

Therapists can help parents understand their child on a deeper level because therapists know what to look for and what these actions tend to stem from. Professionals can also explain to parents more clearly and more easily comprehended compared to kids, since they might not have developed the skills to explicitly express what they are thinking. 

Children can show their personalities very early in their lives. The study of Rothbart (1981) measured infants’ activity levels, smiling and laughter, being skittish, their reaction to refusals, and their level of soothability, which is how much they calm down after being soothed (Rothbart, 1981. These observations are measured to determine the child’s temperament. Therapists can use this information to identify potential temperament problems they might encounter. 

Their temperament problems can manifest in other ways when they are older and be expressed in their workplace and relationships, which creates potential problems. This is called personality coherence when a trait is the same but expressed or perceived differently (Larsen & Buss, 2018). A fussy kid will be hard to soothe and picky. As they grow older, this personality trait starts to be shown as being meticulous at their work and less resilient or sensitive to stress. In relationships, small conflicts can trigger them to shut down and stress over plans changing. 

Therapy can act as the “nurture” role, pairing with the nature of their personality. Particularly in their youth, when constant growth is happening, and there is moldability. Their surroundings, social relations, and education are deeply impactful. Rather, for adults, it becomes more difficult due to years of habit and routine. Consistent therapy can help the child practice good habits. Since it is their nature, children can have temporary regressions if therapeutic skills are not persistently reinforced. Specifically, DBT life skills include emotion regulation and reality acceptance. Reality acceptance skills can help with healthy decision-making. In a fight, they might normally shut down and avoid the problem, but with the practice of reality acceptance skills, they can acknowledge the conflict and reflect on the decisions they should and want to make. 

References

Larsen, R. J., & Buss, D. M. (2018). Personality psychology: Domains of knowledge about

human nature (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Rothbart, M. K. (1981). Measurement of Temperament in Infancy. Child Development, 52(2), 

569–578. https://doi-org.lib-proxy.fullerton.edu/10.2307/1129176