Lifespan Psychology Centre Verified listing

In our work with children and their parents we focus on supporting the relationship between them.

This means that we work collaboratively with the parents in helping them understand the issues that motivate and influence their child's behavior, thoughts, and feelings.

In parallel, we work with the child through a variety of attachment and trauma informed models of intervention (dyadic therapy, play-based developmental approach, mentalising-based focused therapy, narrative therapy).

Our treatment aims to be sensitive to culture, trauma, and development. Overall, we aim for Lifespan to be a place in which all people (no matter how small!) can feel safe to express themselves and more fully engage in life.

Below are some of the ways we can support you:

Psychodynamic play-developmental psychotherapy for children aged 4-10 years

Psychodynamic psychotherapy for children is a play based and developmental therapy that helps the child to express her inner world - with its defenses and responses to inner conflicts and/or relational struggles - while being 'held in mind' by the therapist and the caregiver.

It benefits young children (ages 4 to 10) suffering from early disruption of attachment and trauma, emotion disregulation, anxiety an so on. This therapy is usually a long term therapy (6-12 months).

Parents are seen separately on  a regular basis for feedback sessions.

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy for young people aged 13 to 25 years

Psychodynamic psychotherapy is a verbal therapy that helps young people to become more aware of their own way of being and relating while offering a safe space to explore  and develop a more integrated sense of self and a life narrative.

It benefits young people (ages 13 to 25) who experience emotional and relationship difficulties as core features of their mental health disturbance.

Paediatric Occupational Therapy for children aged 0-12 years

Senior Occupational Therapist, Lisa Haines and Kylin Mawhinney, can assist your child and family with areas including:· Sensory processing and integration· Fine motor skills (including handwriting)· Gross motor skills and coordination· Mealtime battles· Toileting and sleep difficulties· Social communication skills· Regulation, emotional and behavioural disturbances.

Parent Support and Guidance

For many families, guidance to parents is as important as direct sessions with children. This work with parents focuses on helping parents to think about what is behind their children’s behaviors, also defined as 'mentalising'.

Further, parents are helped to understand how their own beliefs and experiences influence their understanding and managing of their children.

The clarity with which parents see their child's behaviours as communication of internal states will help them to become more tuned into their child or children, meet the child's emotional needs and create a sense of delight and security.

This, in turn, will help the child to better mange their emotions and feel more understood and delighted in. This is the foundation for helping children to develop self-esteem, sound relationships and a desire to learn and be curious about the world (including the academic realm).

Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Services

Parent-Infant Psychotherapy (PIP) is a method of early intervention to promote infant development in the context of a vulnerable primary relationship due to the most diverse reasons (parental mental illness, trauma, isolation, internal and external pressures and so on).

The psychotherapic work happens with the baby in the room alongside the work with the mother and her states of mind and with their attachment relationship (Barandon, 2005).

Length of treatment is variable and will be discussed after an initial assessment which usually takes place over three initial sessions.