The educational psychologist assesses, diagnoses and treats children and adolescents. Their aim is to facilitate psychological adaptation, as well as the learning and development of children and adolescents in the context of families, educational institutions, social and peer groups and communities. Parental guidance with adults who are significant to the life of the child or adolescent forms in many cases an integral part of this process.
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Low self-esteem
- Temper tantrums
- Stress
- And so forth
- Distractibility
- Poor concentration
- Hyperactivity
- Impulsive behaviour
- Performance anxiety
- Mathematical anxiety
- Underachievement
- Poor progress
- Learning backlogs;
- Difficulties with study methods and motivation
- Indecision about subject choices.
What happens when we need to learn:
Methods include:
- Study motivation
- Study planning
- Learning styles
- Learning strategies
- Exam stress
- Exam preparation
- Time management
- Listening Skills
- Memory
- Thinking strategies
PLAY IS AT THE HEART OF WHAT MAKES A CHILD
Play therapy can be used for:
- Processing of trauma
- Acquiring coping skills
- Awareness and management of emotions
- Self-empowerment
- Improving self-control
- Strengthening self-worth
- Assertiveness and taking risks
- Healthy venting of aggression
- Treatment following sexual and other abuse
- Relaxation techniques
Situations where play therapy can be applied:
- Divorce
- Parental conflict
- Terminal illness or death of a close relative
- Armed robbery, car hijacking, burglaries
- Hospitalisation of child
- Children with depression or anxiety
- Children with behavioural or disciplinary challenges
- Children with social challenges
- Preparing for emigration
- Challenges with peers
You discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.
Parental Guidance forms an integral part of the treatment process with children. The child participates in therapy and the parent is guided through the treatment process to appreciate the causes, consequences and management of their child’s challenges. The parent is also guided to identify the strengths within the child, the family and other systems and to use these assets for the benefit of the child.
The adults and the entire family system of the child have a significant influence on the child’s functioning. Therapy can be compared to the building of a wall. During therapy a building block is laid down. Through the parental guidance sessions, parents or caregivers of the child are guided to appreciate the challenges and manage these challenges within the family. In so doing, they are able to reinforce at home, that which is initiated in the therapy sessions. Parents can therefore be vital contributors to the building of this wall in order to affect success, happiness and/or optimal functioning within the family. Involved parents are incredible assets to any therapy with a child. This valuable asset is utilised by therapists in the treatment process of the child.
- Dishonesty
- School refusal
- Oppositional behaviour
- Disciplinary challenges
- Adjustment problems
- Social skills
- Aggression
- Bullying
- And so forth
It is particularly in grade 10 that making subject choices becomes critical. Making discerning subject choices has a significant effect on making wise career choices. Assessments in grade 9 help equip learners to make informed and responsible subject choices.
In order to make meaningful subject choices the child’s current scholastic achievement in subjects, aptitudes, interests, dreams and ideals should be taken into account. Assessments can assist in determining the child’s aptitude and interests. Different schools offer different elective subjects from grade 10 to 12 which the learner can choose from to provide in his / her needs.
- Determining one’s aptitude profile
- Determining one’s interest profile
- Personality profile
- Self-exploration
- Future planning
- Exploring meaningful subject combinations
Career guidance assessments assist the learner to make a responsible decision about his or her career. This assessment can already be conducted in grade 11 to ensure timely preparation for after-school training and/or the career life.
- Determining one’s aptitude profile
- Determining one’s interest profile
- Personality profile
- Self-exploration
- Career-oriented self-knowledge
- Future planning
“Each and every child has the right to be ready for school from the start of his/her school career. A child can enter this wonderful new phase in his life with self-confidence and success only if he/she is ready for school.”
Not all children of school-going age are ready to start school.
Pre-schoolers imagine the “big school” as an ideal place where they will be happy and learn new things. A child can however only enter this wonderful new phase in his life with self-confidence and success if he/she is school-ready. The process that culminates in school readiness begins at birth and ensues progressively with the development of the child.
The following developmental tasks need to be completed during the child’s toddler and pre-school years:
- Fine and gross motor skills
- Adequate concentration and attention
- Memory
- Numerical abilities
- Language comprehension
- Communication abilities
- Control over emotions
- Positive self-concept
- Social and emotional relationships with parents, siblings and peers
- Socialisation, i.e. to communicate and establish relationships with others in a socially acceptable manner
- Moral development, i.e. the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, and the development of the conscience.
The child’s ability to successfully master the development of later stages depends strongly on the success with which he/she has progressed through the developmental tasks during his younger years. The child who is school-ready should be able to adapt socially, emotionally, physically and perceptually in the formal learning situation
During a school-readiness assessment, the educational psychologist focuses on the evaluation of the child in totality in order to determine if the child is ready for school or not. Attention is therefore given to the intellectual, emotional, perceptual and physical development of the child. Feedback is given to the parents on these aspects so that the child’s strengths can be highlighted and the problems, if any, be effectively addressed in time.
- Bereavement therapy following death of a family member or friend
- Assistance during and after divorce
- Career planning
- Parental guidance: gifted children, discipline, sex education, etc.
- Therapy after trauma
- Trauma debriefing
- School-readiness tests, intelligence and aptitude tests
- Health psychology
- Personal learning and development
- Assistance with relationship difficulties
- Family therapy
Appointments/ Service Information
Psychological services are provided under specific conditions. Please read the Client Information Document / Service Conditions Contract before you make an appointment. Appointments can be made telephonically or by completing the appointment request form.