A Note to Kids
Welcome! My name is An. I am from Belgium, Europe but I have been living in Chico for more than twenty years.
In psychotherapy you are the one who holds the key.
I am a psychotherapist and psychoanalyst. I work with children, teenagers and adults who feel they need and want help in their lives. Meeting with, and being listened to by a psychotherapist can help you hurt less, because sometimes there are things you are not able to talk about with the people you love and care about most: your parents, family or friends.
It is my job to listen to people in a very special and unique way. This does not necessarily mean that it will be your job to talk! While we meet, you can make use of the space I provide in your very own way. You could use it to talk if you feel comfortable, but you can also use the available art materials or the toys. There is nothing that you have to do in the space that I offer you.
A psychotherapist does not ‘take sides,’ and is not allowed to talk with other people about what you tell him or her.
If I do also meet with your parents, I will listen to you and your parents without taking sides, because in psychotherapy there are no ‘good guys’ or ‘bad guys!’
'Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle.'
—Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
I will also keep what you tell me confidential. This means that while you are free to tell me whatever you feel, it would be against the law for me to share what you tell me with anyone else.
A psychotherapist is not like a teacher - I will not tell you what to do, and is also not like a doctor - I do not prescribe any medications.
“I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.”
—Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
‘Psychotherapy’ might sound like a serious and heavy word, but is just a special space where you might start to see the world and yourself in a new light. It is also somewhat like an adventure. The most amazing thing about it and the reason I like it so much, is that it can help people’s hearts become a little lighter. It can help you love life and people more.
Kids sometimes want help when they suffer from:
Troubling thoughts
Bad feelings
Sadness/ ‘depression’
Anger
Trouble getting along with parents or siblings
Making and keeping friends
Problems at school
Anxiety
Feeling scared
Being worried
Bad dreams
Things they think are too embarrassing to tell...