Has anybody taken their dc to counselling?

[GettinTrimmer]

My ds age 8 frequently finds friendship issues/school/life difficult to cope with and has said he has a 'sad life' and doesn't want his life anymore

Sometimes he is tired and blowing things out of all proportion other times very frustrated and upset feeling that things just aren't going his way.

Has anybody tried CBT/counselling for your dc? If so, did it work?

I did for one of my children.

We went through the school nurse and she said we had 2 options: counselling with her or be referred to a team of specialists. We did a combination of the 2, as nurse left after a short time. The sessions with the nurse helped greatly, the specialist didnt. Wasnt very reliable, didnt see them for months on end.

Apparently you can ask for a referal from your GP if you dont want to wait for school to restart.

Thanks MrsWeasley. I suspect he will be better over the school holidays, but he periodically has these episodes.

DS2, 14, has been seeing the connexions advisor fairly regularly at school on a drop-in basis, with very similar issues to your DS. This escalated to some sessions with a nurse from CAMHS, and coincidentally she has today 'signed him off' as he is coping a lot better in the last six months. He has also attended some self-esteem workshops within school.

I don't know if what he has been doing is officially classed as 'counselling' as such, but it is what I would call it. It has certainly helped and he has felt very supported through it. I wouldn't hesitate to seek similar support for him again if necessary. We went the GP route for the CAMHS referral - apparently it is quicker than going through the school. We had discussed DS's issues with him previously before the school recommended that we ask for a referral, so he was very understanding.

my ds has been to play therapy to help with anxiety, and the therapy has been a lovely experience for him

mummy your ds's school sound really good. I wish we could find self-esteem workshops for for my ds's age group, I will google and try and find out. His school has an Emotional Support Literacy Assistant, she is very good, and when I spoke to her this morning she said he has been alright at school, so at the moment I think he is too tired to get any perspective. Already he seems a bit happier now it's the holidays.

coupleofKooks How old is your ds?