Therapeutic work with children is very intriguing for us, not only because children express when something bothers them or they disagree with something, but also because of the possibilities that parents often have to improve their children’s well-being.
We always ask ourselves how useful therapy is for children, and to what extent we can change things and the situation when they return to a family where the difficulties remain unchanged.
Often, working with children is not easy because parents expect us to perform miracles and for the child to start behaving differently or to stop suffering from illness. We understand them because difficulties often persist for a long time, they feel like they have tried everything, and they don’t see their options for moving forward. However, experience shows that parents are the ones who can help their children the most. Therefore, we often offer collaboration primarily to parents rather than their children. We try to find a solution to their problems together and strengthen parental competencies so that they can create the best possible environment at home.
Specific situations for us are the stories of children who have become victims of domestic violence, suffer from CAN (Child Abuse and Neglect) syndrome, or are used as “tools” in the revenge of divorcing parents. Even in these cases, we strive to work with the family system so that the impact on the child’s psyche is minimal.
In therapy, with both children and adults, we base our approach on the principles of systemic therapy, particularly Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT).