Youth, Teen and Child Counselling Singapore
Every child is a gift from God and they are precious in His sight
In this day and age, children and teenagers are bombarded with lots of stressors – social media, peer pressures, academic pressures, parental pressures and family breakdown like divorce and separation. As a result,many of them are suffering from mental health and emotional issues like depression, anxiety, eating disorder, identity issue, self harming and suicidal behaviour.
At Sylvia Tan Psychology Consultancy, we believe that children and teens are inherently good, loving, creative, social and intelligent beings. It is through challenging environments, difficult life situations or toxic relationships that affect their personalities, moods and behaviours. If they are nurtured rightly and with the right support, they can flourish to be themselves and grow up to be healthy functional adults.
As children’s and teen’s brains are still growing and evolving, we use age appropriate tools and psychological therapies to cater to your child’s developmental needs. We use evidence-based therapies and latest research on neuroscience to inform our practice. As it takes a village to raise a child, we believe in using a collaborative and integrative approach to support your child.
We see children and teenagers with these issues:
- Academic stress and anxiety
- Victims of bullying including cyber bullying
- Bullying or aggressive behaviour
- Body image problem
- Eating disorder
- Gaming addiction
- Alcohol or porn addiction
- Sexual identity concerns
- Relocation and adjustment problem
- Divorce and parental separation
- Strained relationship with parents or family members
- Teen pregnancy
- Self harm
- Suicidal ideaton/behaviour
Childhood and Teenage Mental Health
Signs of childhood and teenage depression and anxiety
Depression causes your child to feel sad, irritable, hopeless, or withdrawn. Your child’s sleep, appetite, relationship with others, school attendance, interest in hobbies may be affected. In severe cases, depression can cause child to have suicidal thoughts or self harm like cutting oneself.
For many children and teenagers with depression, they tend to have anxiety as well. Anxiety causes feelings of fear, panic or worry about everyday situations. Anxiety can manifest as social anxiety whereby your child is anxious in a social setting and they would rather isolate themselves than be with their friends. Anxiety can also manifest into panic attacks whereby your child may experience sudden chest tightness, difficulty breathing, nausea, outbreak of sweat or dizziness.
Signs of depression or anxiety to look out for:
- Increased withdrawal and isolation
- Sudden change in behavior
- Irritability or anger
- School refusal
- Changes in sleep (insomnia or excessive sleep)
- Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
- Sensitive to comments
- Thoughts of death or suicide
- Poor attention or concentration
- Fatigue or persistent low energy
- Psychosomatic pains
- Constant worrying
- Fear of social events
- Panic attacks
Why choose Sylvia Tan Psychology Consultancy ?
While depression and anxiety are mental health issues, at Sylvia Tan Psychology Consultancy, we do not pathologize these conditions or promote psychotropic medication for your child. Rather we see those symptoms as signals for parents, teachers and the community to realise that something is happening to the child and he/she needs help and support. We understand the angst and worries of parents when they see their child going through a hard time. Together, we will work closely with you as parents, with their teachers and other caregivers to identify the root issues for your child and find the right solutions to support your child’s mental and emotional wellbeing.
At Sylvia Tan Psychology, we will work collaboratively with you as we use a three prong approach to support your child’s mental and emotional well being.
*Note : Presently, we only see children from age 8 onwards.
Counselling Psychologist
Sylvia Tan - Founder, Principal Counselling Psychologist, MPsych (SRP Registered)
Sylvia is a Counselling Psychologist practicing in Singapore. She holds a Master’s Degree in Counselling Psychology from Curtin University of Technology ( Perth, Western Australia) and is currently a registered counselling psychologist and a clinical supervisor with the Singapore Register of Psychologists (SRP).
After her graduation in 2002, Sylvia lived and worked in Australia for many years before her relocation back to her home country Singapore in 2014. To date, Sylvia has over 20 years of experience working in a range of settings both in Australia and Singapore.
Get In Touch
Whatsapp or email us to book an appointment or schedule in for your free initial 15 minutes phone consultation.