Psychological Interventions in Child Mental Health

The Clinical Psychologist can have significant contributions in the area of Child Mental Health. For a mental health professional, working in this area is very rewarding as the response to intervention is generally appreciable and more rapidly noticeable. The field, though challenging, comes with an unsurpassed feeling of satisfaction. The set up of child psychology also generally facilitates greater independence in working environment. Child psychology has become more relevant within the domain of clinical practice, as in a majority of such cases, non pharmacological interventions are required, and considered to be essential to effective treatment planning and execution. Non pharmacological interventions come with their own set of advantages – primarily, they are perceived as non-threatening by the child owing to their interactive nature and the active involvement of family members. focus on specific symptoms and emphasis on learning. These interventions are aimed at not only the reduction of symptoms and the resultant distress, but also lay emphasis on learning. They also have a preventive and remediative focus and employ strategies for teaching life skills, coping skills & social skills. The scope of child psychology broadens beyond the individual child to help caregivers/family members to deal with the child. As childhood, and the developmental years, lay a foundation for later life; the long term goals of child psychology and the subsequent benefits cannot be overlooked.

There are various forms of interventions used in managing childhood problems. These arePsycho-education, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Family Therapy and Play Therapy. These techniques have also been used in pain management, stress management and life skill training for children. There have been a number of research studies to assess their efficacy in Indian children. There are some randomized clinical trials on CBT based interventions. There are many challenges in the practice of these therapies such as engaging the child/adolescent in therapy process, acceptance by parents, compliance, problems with follow-up, explanation of therapeutic strategies, time/cost effectiveness and adequate training of professionals.