How to become A Child Therapist

• Mental Health Physician 
• Mental Disorder Physician 
• Child Psychiatrist 
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist 
• Mental Health Professional
• Child Psychotherapist
• Psychologist
• Play Therapist

What do Child Therapists do?

A Child Therapist would typically need to:

• Conduct psychotherapeutic assessments of children and teenagers and their families and carers to arrive at a suitable treatment plan for identified issues
• Discuss issues and therapies with clients and their families or carers
• Settle on a contract for therapy with the parents or carers of their young patients, delineating the purpose and process of forthcoming sessions
• Adapt your methodology to the age and situation of each child or young person, for instance, role play with teenagers and play or art with young children 
• Deliver specialist care and short- or long-term interventions to clients and their carers in a few or multiple sessions, held individually or in a group
• Facilitate your clients with patience and non-judgement in expressing their emotions; listen attentively; state observations and ask pertinent questions
• Observe and respond to how and what children & young people communicate through their behavioural patterns and play; record and interpret findings 
• Conduct research on brain function as well as cognitive, behavioural, social and emotional patterns and processes to better understand and predict them
• Share findings with the scientific community and the public through articles, research papers and reports
• Meet and consult with the interdisciplinary care team as to how best to support a child and the family at school, a medical facility or a child protection service
• Integrate treatment plans with the contributions of other professionals, such as psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and paediatric nurses,, family therapists, and community nurses 
• Offer therapeutic advice, training or supervision to professionals involved in the child’s treatment plan
• Monitor the treatment plan regularly and evaluate its outcomes; modify the assessments or treatments to achieve desired goals and effects
• Maintain confidentiality of information and records; carry out risk assessments and risk management as relevant to child therapy
• Receive regular supervision from senior Child Therapist and supervise trainee therapists
• Stay current with developments in the field

Child Therapists work primarily indoors in separate, well-ventilated and quiet rooms. However, their work environment may vary depending on where they work. They could be based in schools, public & private healthcare facilities, mental health institutions, psychiatric clinics, prisons & correctional facilities, community welfare centres, special needs centres or foster homes. They may make house visits, work from their own home, or provide online consultations.

Travel between venues is likely during the day if you consult with more than one facility.

Child Therapists typically have full-time jobs in schools or government agencies and keep regular hours. You may need to put in extra hours for meetings and training sessions. If you work in clinics, hospitals or other healthcare facilities, you may work evening or weekend shifts.

Part-time work is possible. You may set up your private practice, which gives you more flexibility in scheduling your appointments.

Finding a new job might seem challenging. Child Therapists can boost their job search by asking their network for referrals, contacting companies directly, using job search platforms, going to job fairs, leveraging social media, and inquiring at staffing agencies.

Child Therapists are generally employed by:

• Eating Disorder Services
• Learning Disability Teams
• Foster Homes
• Perinatal Services
• Public & Private Schools
• Student Health Services
• Youth Justice Services
• Non-Governmental Organisations
• Public & Private Clinics
• Voluntary/Non-Profit Organisations
• Training Institutions or in Universities 
• Forensic Services

Professional associations and organisations, such as The International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP), are crucial for Child Therapists interested in pursuing professional development or connecting with like-minded professionals in their industry or occupation. Membership in one or more adds value to your resume while bolstering your credentials and qualifications.

• Emotionally demanding work, requiring you to have a support system in place for yourself in the form of supervision and counselling from senior therapists
• The need to keep calm and safe when patients become display verbal or physical aggression, administering sedative medication if needed
• The need to maintain confidentiality and objectivity
• The need to tailor your therapy to each child
• The need for travel if you provide child therapy services in more than one location
• The need to patiently explain issues and treatments to parents, family members and carers and help them deal with their anxieties

One of the best introductions to a career in mental health is to vol­unteer at a local hospital, clinic, or nursing home, working with children of different ages and with families.

Work experience demonstrates your interest and dedication to the profession. It allows you to understand what it is like to work around other healthcare professionals and patients. In addition, working with a diverse range of clients helps you understand different behaviours, situations, and problems you may encounter during your practice as a Child Therapist.

Read about the profession and interview or job shadow experts working in child therapy to prove your commitment to course providers and prospective employers. Any academic program that a potential Child Therapist takes up typically requires a period of supervised experience, such as an internship.

Working under a doctoral psychologist’s supervision may allow master’s degree holders to engage in the duties of psychological assistants in clinical, counselling, or research settings.

Child therapy is often a second career for experienced professionals from medicine, nursing, psychiatry, psychology, social work and education.

While a master’s degree in psychology may suffice for specific roles, Child Therapists typically require a doctoral degree such as a PhD in psychology or a clinical degree such as PsyD or specialist degrees in education. School psychologist programs also need advanced degrees with certification or licensure. Such programs typically offer coursework in both psychology and education since professionals deal with students’ education and mental health.

You may earn a degree in the social or human sciences or psychology to prepare for master’s level psychotherapy and counselling training courses.

If you wish to enter child therapy as a psychiatrist, you would need to earn your bachelor’s or pre-med degree, medical school qualifications and the requisite internships, training period and specialisation in psychiatry to earn your certification and license.

Take college preparatory courses in high school. English and speech classes will help you develop your research, writing, and oral communication skills.

Certification demonstrates a Child Therapist’s competence in a skill set, typically through work experience, training, and passing an examination. When acquired from an objective and reputed organisation, it can help you stand out in a competitive job market, carry a significant salary premium of up to 18 per cent, increase your chances of advancement, and allow you to become an independent consultant. Successful certification programs protect public welfare by incorporating a Code of Ethics.

Child Therapists typically require a license to practise. Check for the licensing stipulations in your location. Individual government entities conduct the licensing process. It typically involves the passage of an examination in addition to the fulfilment of eligibility requirements, such as a minimum level of education, work experience, training, or the completion of an internship, residency, or apprenticeship.

Working with children typically mandates applicants to undergo background checks.

Performance, experience, and the acquisition of professional qualifications drive career progression. Employees with consistently high levels of performance may be eligible for promotion every two to three years. 

Typically, you could choose or change to any of several roles depending on your interest. For instance, you could become a School Psychologist or Counselor, Development Psychologist, Family Therapist, Animal-Assisted Therapist, Art Therapist or Social Worker. 

With experience, you may take on clinical supervision, training or lecturing duties, depending on the size and nature of the organisation that employs you. You may switch between different institutions such as schools and healthcare facilities. Another option is to enter academia as teachers, researchers, or administrators in colleges.

You could focus on building your independent practice. You could also act as a Consultant to professional therapists like you or mentor less experienced therapists.

You may also expand the range of your services to include foster homes, shelters, and juvenile probation or law enforcement. You could pursue a specialism in particular issues, such as eating disorders among children and young people. 

There are also opportunities to take on managerial responsibilities in a service leadership role within state mental health services. You may even agree to a position of supervision, teaching or research in government agencies.

Candidates with the necessary skills, experience, and education, preferably a doctoral degree, have the best job prospects.

Continuing professional development (CPD) to help you keep current with clinical and theoretical developments is essential in the healthcare sector for public wellbeing and career progression. It embraces new learning objectives, methodologies, and novel technological developments, especially in education, management, and IT.

In general, reflective learning, interaction with peer groups, comprehensive inclusion, workshops, and professional publications serve to educate, influence, support, and foster lifelong enlightenment in all career-grade Child Therapists.

More specifically, you may engage in work-based professional development through in-service training, peer review and discussions with other therapists. Professional engagements, such as the membership of professional bodies and presentations at conferences, also serve to develop your knowledge, skills and network. If you hold a master’s degree, you may pursue a doctoral degree, write papers for scientific journals, and take up research. You may constantly update your knowledge by reading journals and through other media.

You may receive on-the-job training from some private, voluntary and charitable counselling organisations to help you learn how to tackle the needs of specific client groups. You may also enrol in relevant courses and workshops provided by accredited training schools in areas such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), confidentiality, report-writing and presentations, and child protection legislation.

You must receive clinical supervision from senior therapists to ensure your well-being and continued development. 

Child Therapists can expect support and additional training from the academic institution or from Vitae, a non-profit global leader with over 50 years of experience in enhancing the skills of researchers. In partnership with governments, funders of research, professional bodies, trusts & foundations, universities, and research institutes, Vitae offers training, resources, events, consultancy, and membership.

A Child Therapist’s Techniques & Approaches

A Child Psychologist may use a psychodynamic approach, focusing on childhood, its dreams and experiences, and the dynamics of the client-therapist relationship. The cognitive-behavioural approaches stem from a belief that negative thoughts and habitual responses are linked and may be unlearned or reconditioned. There is also the humanistic and person-centred approach, based on self-development and personal growth. Finally, the integrative or eclectic approach mixes techniques from the core models.

Like infants who have an overabundance of neuronal connections, pre-teens have a pre-pubertal burst of neuronal sprouting, as revealed by brain imaging studies.

Growing-up years are as much a time of excitement as emotional, mental and physical turbulence. When children and teens receive professional support and therapy to help them resolve problems, it takes away the burden of loneliness from them. It helps them build constructive relationships with peers and adults, allowing them to develop into well-balanced adults who are successful and independent in coping with life’s daily issues.

Laugh with the children but respect them without displaying a condescending attitude. Engage with them through their play to understand what goes in their minds, hearts and souls. Then you will be able to communicate with them in a language they understand.