Dana Goldsmith-Gautier
דנה גולדשמיט-גוטיה
Educational Psychologist פסיכולוגית חינוכית מומחית מדריכה Psychologue Scolaire
What is psychological therapy and how does it help?
Psychotherapy can be based on verbal or non-verbal communication (like playing or art) and its purpose is to alleviate distress using speech rather than medication.
Therapy can work only if trust is established between the client and the therapist. When choosing a psychologist it is important that the parents and the child feel a certain "chemistry" or "click" with the therapist.
Psychotherapy can be as short as a few months or last for years. The treatment usually takes place once a week for about forty-five minutes.
In therapy, the expression of emotions and thoughts of all kinds, both negative and positive, are allowed, within a secure, enabling environment.
The objective is to help patients understand their strengths and weaknesses, identify emotions and thoughts, and develop more adaptive coping skills, especially in difficult situations.
In the therapeutic process a more accurate narrative of the problem is constructed while obtaining a deeper understanding of oneself or the child, and the current crisis. Setting therapeutic goals, that evolve, allow for a dynamic process that leads to change.
Approaches and tools
I combine different types of treatments and therapy that I have acquired over the years. I try to adapt them to the needs and characteristics of each specific individual patient, choosing the tools that I think fit best:
Play therapy – essentially for children
Psychodynamic therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy
EMDR treatment
Evaluation and treatment of suicidal risks
Child therapy
Children are usually in therapy to treat emotional difficulties and stress, that can be caused by factors like learning problems, confronting social situations, difficulty within the family or sometimes environmental conditions (such as terrorism and war). These factors may affect one's self-image and cause one to feel depressed or anxious.
Life events such as loss of a loved one, transitions (country, school or apartment), birth of a sibling, and other events may lead to temporary changes in your child's mood and behavior.
The parents role in therapy
Parents play a central and integral role in their child's therapeutic process. The psychologist is a temporary factor, that is there to help the patient and his parents reach a balance from which they will continue to treat themselves with the tools they acquired during therapy.
Parents, in a shared thinking process with the therapist, are a significant factor in the success of the treatment. They provide essential information of significant events that occur at home and at school.
Sometimes when a child is in emotional or mental distress, it may lead to changes in behavior. These changes can affect the parent's emotional state and behavior. Parents sometimes feel stress, anxiety, anger and aggression that often lead to feelings of guilt.
Part of the therapeutic process is realizing that changing their responses, can lead to a change in their child's behavior.
Confidentiality
As psychologists, we are bound to confidentiality. When treating adults, the subject is clear and unequivocal. When treating children, since parents are also part of the treatment, the subject is somewhat more complex.
In principle, what is said in the session with the child is confidential, unless the child is in danger, or is a danger to himself or to others. However, during the course of the therapy, key issues and themes that arise in the sessions will be discussed.