#childpsych

Feb 2, 2022
2 min

Commencing the School Year

As we know, face to face learning is set to resume from Monday 7th February, after what has been a mammoth Christmas holiday period. Although most children will embrace this return with a mixture of apprehension and excitement, some will have difficulty transitioning back into formal learning. For our littlies, starting or returning to school is a big deal and can be a daunting experience, let alone in the current climate. The biggest thing parents can do to ease their childr

Curtis Cavanagh

Jan 19, 2022
2 min

Understanding ADHD in Children

It is often a question that swirls through a parents mind, is my child just being a child or do they have ADHD. ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which is a developmental impairment of the brains self-management system / executive functions, and is one of the more common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood with the diagnosis rate continuing to rise each year. The great news is that with some guidance and support, parents and children alike can th

Curtis Cavanagh

Dec 8, 2021
2 min

Coping With the End of Another Year

The end of the year can be a tricky time for our little people. Often they are faced with the excitement of Christmas and being on holidays; on top of apprehension about leaving their current teachers and moving in to older grades. For our anxious or rigid-thinking kids these transitions can be particularly troublesome as they leave the structure and predictability of school for the often more relaxed holidays. How can we help our little people through this phase so that t

Curtis Cavanagh

Nov 17, 2021
2 min

Anxiety in Young People

Last week we spoke about chronic low mood in kids, and where this comes from. This week I’d like to look more closely at anxiety and how this presents in our young people. As adults, we know that anxiety presents as excessive worry; rumination; irritability; feeling overwhelmed; and physical symptoms; as well as a myriad of other symptoms. However, as adults we are better placed to articulate what is going on for us (that is, we tend to know when we are worrying about some

Grace McMurtrie

Nov 10, 2021
2 min

Chronic Low Mood in Children

There is no doubt that our kids can go through some tough times. Whether it is a family separation; friendship issues; or bombing out on an assessment; periods of low mood can be a normal response to stressful events. However, what about chronic, or long-standing low mood in our young people? When it comes to adults, persistent low mood may meet the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder, however in children this isn’t usually the case. When it comes to children,

A Child's Life Following an Educational Assessment

Curtis Cavanagh

Oct 27, 2021
2 min

A Child's Life Following an Educational Assessment

Previously I have written about the process of assessments for our children, and how we can navigate the concept of “labelling” them. Now I want to talk about what happens afterwards, once we have all the information (which is usually a LOT of information). Usually one of two things will happen following an assessment. Sometimes, families will come in with an idea in their mind about what is going on for their child. Whether there is a strong family history of Autism Spec

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Curtis Cavanagh

Oct 20, 2021
3 min

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can present in many different ways. Typically when we think of ADHD, we think back to when we as parents were in school and there were kids climbing onto the roof; calling out in class; and getting into fights. And although these types of behaviours could be seen in children with diagnoses of ADHD, it also presents in many more subtle ways. First it is important to distinguish between ADHD’s three presentations: inattentive; h

Hesitancy to "Label" Your Child with a Diagnosis?

Curtis Cavanagh

Oct 13, 2021
2 min

Hesitancy to "Label" Your Child with a Diagnosis?

Will my child be treated differently with a formal diagnosis? Hear what one of our psychologists has to say. Last week we talked all about cognitive assessments and how they can benefit our kids. One overwhelming issue that parents will often raise is “but we don’t want to label them!” This week we are going to look at labelling: what is it; and when is it appropriate? The fact of the matter is, parents bring their children for assessments because they want to know what is

Assessing Children for Learning and Developmental Difficulties

Grace McMurtrie

Oct 6, 2021
3 min

Assessing Children for Learning and Developmental Difficulties

What does it mean to have my child "assessed"? The road to securing a diagnosis for our children can be a long, frustrating one. Often it starts out when parents notice their children’s “quirks”, often in early toddler-hood. They may have more difficulties controlling their emotions than others; other times they might seem a bit “slower” than their peers. When it comes to parents of siblings, they will often notice significant developmental differences between their childre

Curtis Cavanagh

Sep 29, 2021
2 min

"Attachment Parenting"

There would scarcely be a new parent these days who hasn’t heard of the term “attachment parenting”. For those that aren’t in the know, attachment parenting is a parenting style that promotes practices such as birth bonding; breastfeeding; baby wearing; co-sleeping (or close sleeping) amongst others.Although attachment parenting is based on the attachment theory; it focuses on forming both physical and emotional parent-infant bonds.Proponents of attachment parenting believe t

When do I Bring my Child in for Therapy?

Curtis Cavanagh

Sep 22, 2021
2 min

When do I Bring my Child in for Therapy?

There are many reasons why parents bring their children in to see us here at childpsych. A common reason is anxiety, or in our littlies, anxiety presenting as behavioural difficulties. One of the most common causes of this is our old friend “Cognitive Rigidity”. Have you ever noticed that your child becomes “stuck” on certain ideas? Maybe they will keep trying to solve a puzzle the same way, despite it never working for them. Or perhaps they are determined to follow particul

Curtis Cavanagh

Sep 15, 2021
2 min

Why Toddlers Bite

Hearing that our child is "the biter" usually rates pretty high on most parents' lists of things they don't want to hear. Upon hearing this, parents will often have visions of being shamed at every birthday party on the horizon; and of their previously sweet-natured toddlers ostracised and friendless at Kindergarten; angry and violent in primary school and headed for a life of juvenile delinquency. Next they will usually turn to thoughts of "what did I do wrong?" Because, we

Curtis Cavanagh

Sep 8, 2021
2 min

What is it like to be a Psychologist?

Todays blog focusses on what it is like to be a psychologist. A field where you listen and support those who need it from an objective, evidence-based perspective. This can be quite a demanding field, but hear from one of our very own psychologists about her experience in the field. Whenever I talk to people, be it friends, relatives or clients, I always encounter the same question at some point. “How do you deal with doing what you do? Isn’t it hard?” Oddly enough, the answ

Grace McMurtrie

Sep 1, 2021
2 min

Acceptance Commitment Therapy

Making the decision to seek Psychological support - whether for yourself or your child - can be a daunting task. Let us help to reduce the anticipation with todays blog post about ACT. After our initial session, the overwhelming majority of my clients will ask, "so, how does this work?" or "what do we do now?". The truth is, there are many different roads that therapy can go down. The direction we decide to take is one that should be decided by the therapist and their clien

Grace McMurtrie

Aug 18, 2021
2 min

Achieving Outcomes Through Play

Ever struggled to understand your childs emotions or reasons for their bad behaviour? Sometimes we need to do more than just talk. That's why play therapy has found such positive outcomes in expressing concerns in children. As adults, we sometimes find it difficult to explain how we feel. So, can you imagine how difficult it can be for children to articulate their big emotions? A lot of the time, children have not yet developed the language skills to verbalise how they are

Grace McMurtrie

Aug 9, 2021
1 min

Early Childhood Development

Want to truly understand the importance of a Childs first 5 years? As we know, the first five years of a child's life are vital in terms of brain development. Children's brains develop more rapidly during this period than at any other time in their life, and it is at this time where children's brains are most flexible. As such, the first five years are critical in terms of learning and growth. Infants have so much to gain from face to face interaction with their caregivers,

Brisbane's leading child and adolescent psychology clinic