The practice of Counselling Psychology includes a broad range of culturally-sensitive practices that help people improve their well-being, get over their distress and maladjustment, resolve crises, and enhance their ability to function better in their lives. It addresses normal developmental issues and problems associated with day to day lives as well as physical, emotional, and mental disorders.
At Open Arms Child Development Centre, psychological counselling and intervention services are available for both, children and their parents as well as for adults needing assistance for their psychological and emotional problems.
We at Open Arms Child Development Centre understand that treatment and rehabilitation is incomplete unless a holistic approach is followed which addresses the physical, social as well as psychological needs of an individual. This becomes more crucial while working with children with special needs who are still growing and developing.
Open Arms Child Development Centre has a team comprising of special educators, speech therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and a psychologist. All of them work in coordination during the treatment of children at our clinic. In some children, cognitive, behavioural or emotional problems exist and this is where the psychologist intervenes. For example, in cases of some cognitive disabilities, special techniques for training and motivating children are required, which parents may not be aware of and need to be counselled about. Similarly, while some kids may have severe intellectual deficits, they may have some other gifts such as of singing, playing an instrument, art or dancing which they may be very good in and which, if identified and developed, may even enable them to find a vocation for themselves.
Some children with disabilities may have aggression and other behavioural problems which need to be addressed, for which psychological therapies are required. Their expression of aggression may actually be an indication of an inability to share their anxieties and thoughts due to communication deficits. It could even be triggered by their diet or several other factors, which need to be identified. If reasons behind their anger or undesirable behaviours are understood, treatment becomes easy. These are some places where psychological intervention helps a lot.
Psychological intervention with children follows the following approach:
Counselling Facility for Adults
In addition to children, we have the psychological counselling serves available for persons of all ages, genders and cultural backgrounds. Counselling is done on an individual basis. All sessions are problem-specific and goal-directed. The kind of problems addressed in the sessions here range from day to day occupation related problems, interpersonal relationships (such as parent-child or spousal relationships etc.) to problems related to self esteem and self confidence. Mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, phobias, acute stress etc. are also treated. Cases of higher severity and genetic factors are referred to a psychiatrist. During the process of counselling, confidentiality of the client is respected and maintained.