Seeing a psychologist or mental health professional can be daunting especially if you've never been to one before. Clinical psychologist Clare Rowe explains what you can expect from your first time seeing a psychologist and how they can help your child to manage their mental health with practical and personalised approaches.
What's important when consulting a psychologist for your teen?
- Take the time to find the right psychologist for you and your teen. Look for someone who specialises in your teen’s age range, and in the difficulties you and your teen are going through.
How do I prepare for the session with the psychologist?
- While you don’t need to prepare anything for your first session with the psychologist, it can help to jot down your concerns about your teen and how long the difficulties have been going on for.
Who should come to the session?
- When you ring the psychologist to make the appointment, discuss who will come to the session (i.e. you and your teen, just your teen or just yourself).
- In the first session, your psychologist will help you set some collaborative goals about what you would like to achieve in future sessions.
Having some fear around seeing a psychologist is normal, but you should be proud of the courage that it requires to take this step. Seeing a psychologist can have really positive outcomes for you and your teen.