Quote:
Originally Posted by Yearning0723
I don't think the sole purpose of therapy is necessarily to resolve trauma...for some people it is, but if I had a kid, I would see a therapist at least twice a month just as a precaution, I guess, even if I didn't "need" to, just because it would be important for me to have a professional to discuss parenting trials and tribulations with, and also because of my fear of being like my parents and hurting my kid inadvertently...
I would also probably want my kid to have someone (like a therapist) to talk to, just because I know when I was a kid, if I'd had a therapist or someone like a therapist who was objective, not immersed in my life, but also supportive, it would have been very helpful to me, and when I started seeing a therapist at age eight, I was very grateful for the extra support. A kid can never have too many adults in their lives, and I think it would be important for my kid (not everyone's kids, but my kid) to have an adult to talk to who isn't his or her parent and who can provide the kind of support/expertise/impartiality of a therapist.
My views on this might change as I get older, naturally, and I don't plan on having kids anyway so it's probably a moot point...but I feel like it makes sense for parents who have experienced trauma/maltreatment as children to want to be very careful not to perpetuate the cycle of violence and build a network of support for their children, and I feel like a therapist can be part of that.
Just my two cents, of course. If you have the luxury of affording such things.
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I suppose if private pay therapy were an option for me I'd think differently. But i need insurance to see a T and for that there needs to be a diagnosis, so I guess I'm looking at it from that perspective. I think family support is hugely important and agree there cant be too many adulta in a childs life. I dont think this necessarily needs to be in the form of a psychologist or therapist, but in some cases it may be what's best. There are lots of parents, myself included, who have benefited greatly from professional guidance when the situation was too complicated for help from friends or family.
Its interesting to note something from the perspective as a parent that I would not have understood when I was younger, and that's that many kids are brought for treatment by their parents, not because its what they want. I'm not saying this isnt warrented. I'm aware that many times it is, and its great that there is so much help available to those who need it.
But it can also be the result of helicopter (or over anxious) parenting too. For a real diagnosis there needs to be a disorder, and many normal childhood begaviors can be considered a disorder if we overanalyze it enough. Kids who are quite well adjusted are sent to therapy and end up sitting in silence for 50 minutes when they could be out doing "kid" things- likely because its their mom or dad who could really use the help. This kind of thing you really only see in the US...