You’ll often hear people say that children are “resilient” as a response to their ability to overcome trauma. In many ways, it’s true. Children have the unique ability to smile after they’re in trouble, or to play after they cry. They get hurt and then forget about their pain with a bit of distraction. They are able to feel and express love only minutes after a tantrum. Kids are amazing at moving forward.
But that’s not entirely how it works. While it’s true that children are extremely resilient, we can’t know with certainty what might be a long term trauma and what will not.
Helping a Child With Their Emotions
We can’t control what your child will look back on as a trauma and what will be a forgotten memory. Sometimes, the experiences that do not seem to relate to trauma at all can become traumatic memories, while the more emotional and negative experiences become growth opportunities. We do not know how our child will process the past and what they will be most affected by.
But what we do know is that we want to give our children the skills they need to overcome and respond properly to trauma as they get older. That’s where psychotherapy can be valuable. Even though kids can often be described as resilient, adults are often less so, and the issues that affect adults can sometimes start because of experiences that a person had in their childhood.
If a child is struggling with anxiety, stress, anger management, sadness, or any other unhealthy or unwanted emotion, rather than hope that they’ll grow out of it or assume that children are resilient enough to overcome it, it is often a good idea to consider therapy. Therapy for children focuses on skills that can help not only during their childhood, but throughout life:
- Skills training
- Emotional control
- Behavioral management
- Empathy and understanding
- Stress reduction
These are benefits that many of us hope we receive as adults, but we can teach them to children early on. Giving children these skills at a young age allows them not only to enjoy their youth more, but also manage some of the emotions and issues might affect them as adults.
We may not be able to be certain or predict what experiences they have now will eventually bring them trauma. But we can make sure that, if they do end up processing traumas, that they have the skills they need to overcome them better and avoid some of the risks of psychological damage that they would otherwise experience as adults. Contact Long island Counseling Services today to ask about our child therapy.