Children may be affected by troubles and changes in their lives. Normal life can present problems such as house moves, change of schools, change in parental situation, illness or loss of a loved one.
Often these situations cause considerable stress to the adults and other members of the family and can often leave you feeling powerless and unsure on how to deal with it.
A change in behaviour, such as withdrawal, angry outbursts, lack of concentration, sleep problems or slipping back a developmental stage could all be communications of distress.
It can be heartrending to see the child you love having problems. Using play, drawing, sand-tray, stories and ‘pretend’, enable children to use their natural gift for metaphor to describe their internal world. Although we can’t change outer difficult life conditions, facilitating the expression of feelings that are acknowledged with care and empathy is in itself a healing process.