Psychiatrist asked me to leave the room for 10 Minutes to talk to Dd

Probably asking her if there's anything she couldn't talk about in front of you, if anything's upsetting her at home, if she's scared of anyone at home etc. Because obviously in her line of work she will sometimes encounter kids who are being abused.

My bad! Can't delete my previous post so I'm editing it. I posted in the wrong topic. Sorry.

My DD had to see a child psychiatrist when she was 5. The psychiatric nurse took her out of the room for a while to talk to her alone for part of the appointment while I talked to the psychiatrist, and went through a questionnaire while DD played and answered questions.

Made sense to me, they would need to talk to the child without the parent(s) present to be sure the answers they give are freely given, not coached by parents or anything like that, and also some children might just be more talkative without their parent there (possibly because parents can be quick to jump in with answers, not giving them a chance to answer themselves)

My son had his play therapy sessions without me there and part of the agreement is that I didn't ask him to tell me what he had talked about. Obviously play therapist is DBS checked etc. Children are often 1:1 with TAs at school.

Yes no worries I’m away this weekend so replies may be slow!

Mum could be talking for her a lot and she wanted to see how her child behaved when she wasn't there. Watch her play with toys and ask what she plays with at home and what she likes doing nothing sinister. I was left alone with 2 social workers when I was little and that's all they asked me. I wasn't removed from my parents they found nothing wrong. She wants to see how she behaves on her own she won't be asking any intellectual questions to a 6 year old.

Two of my children have seen child psychiatrists over several years and I’ve not once been asked to step out of the room.

If she’s got male teachers or TAs then it’s highly likely she’ll be in a room alone with them at some point.

I do understand your anxiety but it’s not possible to stop men being alone with her forever, especially in circumstances like this.

Perhaps you could ask for a female psychiatrist or chaperone in future but this was a safe situation compared to being in a doctors surgery for example.

The men you need to be more careful of are the family and friends who have your trust and have regular access to your DC.

It's not all about them thinking that you may be part of the problem either; children will frequently try to protect you, or hide things that may upset you, or they think may get them into trouble.

I'm a piano teacher, and I have lost count of the number of children who have told me things they couldn't tell their parents. Most of the time I then see my role as to help them tell their parents - obviously any obvious safeguarding I take direct to their schools.

It's necessary. And they don't have to tell you what's talked about. That's normal to. The relationship is confidential otherwise it doesn't work. You have to trust whoever you choose because you there's a lot you'll never know about what they do with your kid.

Went here to say that, a child in my family had this, same age as well, a course of vitamins and probiotics settled the behaviour issues.
On the question at hand, 6 seems young to see a psychiatrist alone but I understand the concept behind it. I would be OK for a woman seeing my DD alone at this age, and a man but under the condition there is a chaperone in the room as well. You can request a chaperone for all adult examinations, it's no different. Probably erring completely on the side of caution here.

It's normal practice. Psychiatrists and Psychologists will always want to see the patient alone. Both so they can ask safeguarding questions without the patient being uncomfortable answering in front of someone and so that the patient has space to talk about anything they don't want you to hear.

This is perfectly normal procedure.
I work for CAMHS and it's standard process for parents to wait in the reception area whilst their children are in appointments. Usually lasting approx 1 hour. Then, at the end, the practitioner or Dr comes to ask the parents to come into their office to discuss it.
As pp have said, the appointment is about the child rather than the parent, so the focus needs to be on what the child says or wants to communicate to staff. With all due respect, many parents have their own agenda - which aren't always the childrens' best interests.. Fabricated illness etc. Parents insisting that their child needs a diagnosis. Sometimes arguing against the professional experience and knowledge of our Consultants and other highly specialised staff. Sadly at CAMHS, we see cases of fabricated illness and cases where parents coach their children in what to say/how to act during appointments. This is why it's important for children to be given that "space" away from the parents, to speak "freely". Not saying all parents are like this, but many are.

I would have assumed that this was normal practice.

Most of the issues are created at home and a victim is not going to speak freely if their abuser is sat right next to them.

It wouldn’t bother me if it was a man or woman.

Does your DD not go to school?
Are there not men there?

I agree with PP that it is normal practice but I would have expected the therapist to inform me in advance.

DD is a teen and when she started therapy, both therapists she saw/sees, made it clear from the first appointment that DD will see them on her own. The first one we had a 10 minutes handover, now we do a joined session every quarter unless something is urgent.

It's her time to speak freely, to discuss things she is not comfortable to say in front of a parent. in 9 out of 10 times DD will say something to us afterwards when she had a chance to discuss it.

Most likely she was asked about sexual or domestic abuse but in a way that was age appropriate. The questions could have been about you, but more likely about your adult friends/family or your partner who may have started abuse with the threat of, if you tell mummy, then I will hurt her. Unfortunately it happens and so it is a standard question for if a child suddenly goes withdrawn, or has signs of anger where previously there was none. Given that you said that you wouldn't have been happy if you left your daughter with a male, I think you may have been subtle signs you were giving off.

To be clear, I don't refuse to leave (online appointments on Teams). My daughter refuses to let me leave.

Why should I disrespect that? Is it better that she doesn't talk at all, and refuses to attend the appointments?

We talk about consent and autonomy, but conveniently decide to override that if adults think that a child is making a bad decision. She's 17. She knows if she's able to cope or not.

She's gone from spending most of the day in bed to attending school nearly all day every day, after 2 years of therapy, psychiatry, and medication. I think the fact that she wants me to sit beside her (silently) as she speaks to the psychiatrist is a minor issue.

Of course its normal they also do this with couples to. And rightly so. They need to check the person taking them isn't the problem and stopping the patient opening up and being honest. Even at 6 your child has a right to some privacy. And yes I'd still leave the the room if the psychiatrist was male.

Much as others may disagree with Lougle, this is correct protocol. The therapist can ask and can try to see the patient alone. But it really is up to the patient, whether they're 6 or 17.
And I say this as a parent who really wanted to be out of the room. I felt like a bit of a space hog and I would start yapping too much to fill my daughter's silence. She was mute for over a year and would only sit and draw (she was 11 at the time). At 14, she still sees her therapist, never draws anymore during therapy, but has deep, meaningful conversations with her therapist. She has developed a strong and healthy sense of self. She needed to be allowed to develop trust.
She needed time.
People don't want to give each other time and time is one of the greatest allowances you can give to another.
Remember that most children see therapists because something in their every day life has shaken the very core of their trust in others and life around them. Trust is fragile and needs to be handled with great care.

I would expect another female professional in the room as well as the therapist no ? I think it's a good thing though I know she is only 6 but kids aren't stupid there might be things she will open up about with you not there maybe something that she would think would hurt your feeling la for instance I would see it as a good thing to let her speak openly