Children - Psychology Cares

Children & Young People

Psychology Cares Clinical Services

Child Clinical Services (1-10 Years)

Psychology Cares provides specialist mental health care and wellbeing services to children aged from 1 years old to 10 years old. Our child specialist services assess, treat and aim to promote optimal functioning for all children, including those with mild to moderate psychological disorders.

Through our assessment services, we also assist and support children, parents and their carers in conjunction with other health experts. Working in collaboration to ensure the best care is being provided for our children.

Childhood is a time of growth, development and opportunity. Mental health difficulties estimated to affect at least 10% of children and young people worldwide pose a significant barrier to children realising their potential throughout their lives [World Health Organisation, 2023].

These barriers can seem complex and insurmountable. This may be due to factors such as problems arising at different ages and stages of development, placing demands on the growing child and their families and carers. Understanding the needs of children demands not only synthesising clinical knowledge and practice with cutting edge and informed research, but also requires creativity and imagination so we can ensure that we can meet the needs of all of our children.

Beyond the Playground: Exploring the Depths of Childhood Wellbeing

Childhood is a time of learning, growth, opportunities and possibilities. It is when the brain meets experience and play meets imagination. The formative years are now widely accepted across all disciplines of science as critical, creating the pathways for growth and potential adversity in physical and mental health across the lifespan.

Source 1: Royal Academy (2024), Brain Development. Accessed from: https://www.royaleducation.ca/child-development/brain-development/

Source 2: Brown, D & Triggle, N (2018, December 4) Mental health: 10 charts on the scale of the problem. BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41125009

Mental health problems during childhood present unique challenges, with far-reaching implications and profound long-term biopsychosocial consequences. Untreated or inadequately addressed mental ill-health in children can extend well into adulthood, exacerbating existing challenges and potentially leading to the development of further mental health crises.

To understand and address challenges in children’s health, firstly wellbeing outcomes must be defined. Typically these are defined in three dimensions: (1) mental health (2) physical health and (3) skill development.

A Multi-Level Framework of Child Well-Being

Source: Gromada. A; Rees, G; Chzhen, Y (2020). Worlds of Influence: Understanding What Shapes Child Well-being in Rich Countries, Innocenti Report Card, no. 16, UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti, Florence

Children’s mental health is profoundly impacted by adverse circumstances. Research consistently highlights the increased vulnerability to anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders for children growing up in disadvantaged environments. A lack of supportive family environments only adds to these challenges.

At Psychology Cares, our Centre for Research and Clinical Innovation (CRCI) and LifeLab(LiL), with specialist and dedicated clinical research, continue to contribute to the development and improvement of children’s wellbeing and life outcomes. We have identified regulation as a single impact factor that fundamentally contributes to promoting children’s global life outcomes.

Promoting the ability to engage in play and creativity, interpersonal functioning and learning delayed gratification can not only enhance cognitive functioning such as IQ but improve the ability to effectively engage in the real world. Additionally, developing and promoting kinetic and emotional intelligence along with cognitive index of performance, self-esteem and improving resilience have relevance in the interpersonal, occupational and emotional domains in later life.

The wellbeing outcomes of children globally are shown in the table below from a recent UNICEF report. Those in light blue are in the top third, those in medium blue are in the middle third, and those in dark blue are in the bottom third ranking of countries by wellbeing outcomes.