Psychology For Children: What It Is And What Are Its Areas Of Intervention
Psychological assistance services are always adapted to the population for which they are intended, as is the case of the little ones.
With this article we will try to answer the question of what is psychology for children ; What are the main applications that this science has to help minors in different situations, making a distinction between each of them and explaining them in depth to understand the difference.
When we talk about psychology for children, we refer to all those applications of general psychology, intended to be applied to minors which due to their characteristics and conditions require a specific methodology and processes adapted to their evolutionary level.
To understand this question, we must first know the definition of psychology itself, what is the science dedicated to studying and analyzing the behavior and thought processes carried out by people, both individually and in groups and in very diverse contexts. .
Therefore, There will be different ways to study these behaviors depending on different variables, the age of the subjects being one of the most important Even within minors, it cannot be generalized, since there are very different evolutionary moments from early childhood to reaching adolescence and, therefore, psychology for children must be adapted to each case.
In this case, the work of psychology is to study the child population in order to conclude what similarities and differences can be found and also develop methodologies that are intended to totally or at least partially solve the problems that have been identified.
It will be a critical task, in that sense, in psychology for children, to analyze and distinguish all the variables at the genetic and environmental level that may be having some type of influence on these anomalies, whether on an emotional, learning, social or development level
Both aspects, that of biology, with its possible genetic predispositions towards one or another characteristics, and that of the environment, which includes the environment and the type of upbringing of parents and other reference adults, interact to shape the way in which the child will behave and the way he will think. Hence the importance of child psychology knowing both aspects in depth.
Different functions of psychology for boys and girls
After making a general introduction to psychology for children, we can now focus on the different ways in which this branch of science can be applied, in a practical way, to achieve an improvement in people’s lives, in this case children. minors.
Next We will review some of the main ways in which psychology can help children, in different contexts
1. Psychological disorders
The first form of psychology intervention for children is that which is dedicated to the evaluation and treatment of different psychopathologies This is probably the most popular branch or at least one of the most recurring when we think about the ways in which this science can be applied to minors.
A health psychologist specialized in the area of children will have the ability and psychometric tools to evaluate the child on a psychological level and thus discern whether it is possible that the patient is suffering from a psychological disorder. Once this condition has been detected, the professional will draw up a treatment plan.
Of course, This therapeutic intervention will also be regulated to adapt to the evolutionary stage of the minor and his personal characteristics Generally, this work requires continuous collaboration from the child’s parents, as they must follow the guidelines set by the specialist to continue the work at home and thus achieve progress in the shortest time possible.
The child psychology expert must also coordinate with the school to obtain information about their situation there and any other information of interest that may be useful for diagnosis and treatment, in search of maximum benefit for the minor. This collaboration between the professional and the institution can be very useful.
2. Organic diseases
There are organic diseases that can generate alterations on a physical and/or psychological level. When they are of the second type, we are faced with another field of action of psychology for children. Likewise, The psychologist must evaluate the extent of this ailment in the minor
The evaluation work, as when we talked about psychopathologies, must be carried out in a way adapted to the child’s abilities, both for the stage of development in which he or she is and for the alterations that the organic disease may have caused at a certain level. psychological.
After the evaluation, it will be necessary to schedule a therapeutic program to try to minimize these consequences as much as possible, achieve their complete correction if possible, and even anticipate their development if the damage has not yet occurred but is expected to happen if measures are not taken to prevent it.
Likewise, the psychologist will have didactic work with the parents or guardians of the affected minor, providing them with the guidelines to be able to give the best care to the child and in this way their psychological impact is reduced, at least partially.
3. School support
The figure of the school counselor represents another of the lines of action of psychology for children. It is a specialization of psychology, intended to fulfill a series of purposes in the field of schools and institutes One of them is to identify what educational needs exist among students, and whether they are being satisfied or not.
They must also give psycho-pedagogical guidelines to the institution’s team of teachers, and to the students’ families. Of course, your work regarding the students themselves will be of vital importance. You must identify possible problems that may threaten the achievement of educational objectives so that they can be resolved as soon as possible.
If some of the children have special needs, the counselor will also have the mission of coordinating the resources required so that these students can receive education in a way adapted and appropriate for them, achieving the best use and development of their abilities.
In short, the figure of the school counselor, as one of the representatives of one of the areas of psychology for children, has advisory and coordination functions between the students themselves, their families and the educational team
Another field of psychology for children, which is also booming, is sports psychology for children and adolescents. Sports performance in a certain discipline, both for minors and adults, will depend on their physical abilities for said activity but also on psychological factors.
The sports psychologist will be the professional in charge of working with these factors, trying to eliminate all the limitations that the person, in this case the child or adolescent, may have, and that are restricting their development in the sport they practice. It is not only about reducing limitations, it will also be essential to enhance the positive abilities that the minor already possesses
As occurred in other settings of psychology for children, it will be essential for the expert to evaluate the child to know the specific characteristics of their case, since each one will be different and will need a specific and personalized action plan to achieve compliance with the set objectives. .
Therefore, the individual differences of each minor will determine the way the sports psychologist approaches the work. This work will be especially delicate when dealing with young children, whose emotional management skills are in very early stages of development.
In these cases, the work of psychology for children should be focused on that minors learn to develop their abilities to achieve good performance in sport, but enjoying it and without being overwhelmed by pressure which sometimes can be more than they can bear.
The sports psychologist must teach them to put the results into perspective so that their passion does not become a source of anxiety, but of moments of fun and joy.
Although there are other ways of applying psychology for children, those that we have been able to review in these paragraphs represent some of the most important, in which professionals of this science work to improve the lives of minors.
