Single session therapy for children and families
Barriers to child mental health
The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) estimates that “1.5 million Canadian children and youth (aged 0-24) are affected by mental illness and are not receiving access to appropriate supports, treatment or care”. Two significant barriers parents experience when seeking treatment for their child are the financial cost of therapy and the time commitment of multiple counselling sessions.
Single session therapy
Single session therapy provides a way for parents to access the benefits of counselling for their child and family when finances and time are limited.
A single session of therapy can result in many benefits:
reductions in stress
reduced negative physical symptoms related to the identified problem
reduced negative coping
increased knowledge of the cause of the identified problem
increased confidence to address the identified problem
increased knowledge of resources
increased positive coping
Improvements from a single counselling session has been shown to last for over a year! [1]
50% of people accessing single session therapy required no further mental health service! [2]
What to expect
Single session therapy operates under the assumption that your child and her counsellor may not meet again. As a result, this type of counselling is very focused. A counsellor will work with you or your child to develop new strategies, tools, and ways of thinking that can be applied as the issue unfolds, changes or when new problems come up.
Common reasons for single session therapy
behavioral difficulties
difficulty making friends
family conflict
school concerns
parenting challenges
Next steps
If you are concerned about your child's mental health or have received a diagnosis for your child that you need support with Edgar Psychological can help.
[1] Perkins, R., & Scarlett, G. (2008). The effectiveness of single session therapy in child and adolescent mental health. Part 2: An 18-month follow-up study. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 81(2), 2044-8341. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1348/147608308X280995
[2] Duvall, J., Young, K., Kays‐Burden, A., Duncan, D., Cohen, N., & Kiefer, H. (2012, November). No more, no less: Brief mental health services for children and youth. Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health. Retrieved from http://www.excellenceforchildandyouth.ca/sites/default/files/resource/policy_brief_mental_health_services.pdf