Child Psychology

Many psychiatrists believe that most of the emotional and mental difficulties that Adults have are caused by problems that develop in childhood. They believe that much unhappiness in later life could be avoided if children with even minor difficulties had psychotherapy. Child psychology is therefore an important part of psychology. 

Children can be treated at any age at which the need becomes clear. They have been successfully treated by psychotherapy at the age of two or three years but the very young child cannot be treated directly by the psychiatrists. Psychiatrists can only advice the patient on how the child should be handled.  

Child psychology is very important as it not only defines the problems that a child faces but also helps in diagnosing the problem and utilizes the results obtained in creating models. One common approach as to the development of a child is that choices are made due to familiarity. A child who has an experience in life will tend to solve a problem in the same way he did it in his previous experience. He may not be able to understand if his approach was correct or incorrect and this is where parents play a major role. 

Child psychologists have the responsibility of helping parents understand the troubles the children are facing in development. A child psychologist also helps parents tackle the situation without straining the kid too much. 

Child psychology is also very useful in detecting disorders such as Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (HDSD), Autism, Personality development disorders, etc. All of these disorders start growing from a very young age and detecting them is as important as diagnosis. 

Child psychology is categorized under a much broader category called development psychology. The work of a child psychologist is limited to the parents incase the child is too young to understand his situation. Diagnosis is done mainly by modifying the behavior of the child. 

The child if not capable of deciding for himself can be made to practice habits which will help him naturally supersede his condition and help him lead a normal life. 

Questions:

• Why is child psychology essential?
• What is method of treatment used by child psychologists? Do drugs work?