Children
Individual Counselling
Our child psychologists are specifically trained to help children and their parents/families. They can help with any of the following areas:
- School refusal
- Toileting concerns
- Friendship concerns
- Life transitions (e.g. parent separation)
- Fussy eating, poor mealtime behaviour
- Anxiety, fear and panic
- Grief and loss
- Sleep difficulties
- Low self-esteem
- Behavioural problems
- Stress management
- Substance use
- Self-harm
- Family conflict
- Parent-child and family relationships
- Body-image disturbance
- Trauma
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Depression & Bipolar Disorder
- Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
- Eating Disorders (Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating)
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Our child psychologist’s tailor counselling and treatment to the developmental needs of the child and the goals of therapy. Our child psychologists are trained in the most effective treatments available, including:
- Play-Based Therapy
- Theraplay
- Creative-Based Therapy
- DIR ® / Floortime ™ -Based Therapy (especially for children with autism spectrum disorder)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
- Narrative Therapy
Assessment
Autism Assessment and Diagnosis
Our highly experienced child psychologists provide comprehensive assessment and diagnosis for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Our assessment package includes the following:
- A 1-hour consultation for parents to speak with the psychologist about your concerns for your child and to provide a childhood history.
- An assessment session with your child (1 hour) using the ADOS-2 which is the “gold standard” for assessing children with ASD. Option of cognitive assessment using the WISC-V (2 hours) which can take place in one session or split across two sessions within a week of each other.
- A comprehensive parent questionnaire and questionnaire for your child’s teacher (with the parent’s consent), to allow the psychologist to obtain as much information as possible to complete a thorough assessment for your child and whether they meet the criteria for ASD.
- With the parent’s consent, contact with your child’s assessing speech therapist regarding the language component of your child’s ASD assessment.
- A detailed, but easy to understand report written by the assessing psychologist that summarises all information gathered, whether your child meets the criteria for ASD, and recommendations.
- A 1-hour feedback session with the parents where copies of the report are provided, all information in the report is explained, and opportunity is provided to ask questions and discuss any support needs.
Fees: $1,950 ($1,750 for healthcare card holders).
Rebates: If your child is under 13 and referred by a paediatrician, then one rebate for child session of $89.65
Early Intervention for Autism
Lakeside Psychology is an approved provider of Early Intervention therapy using the ‘Helping Children with Autism’ program. Your child may be eligible for this funding package if your child receives a diagnosis of ASD before the age of 6, and this can be used until your child turns seven. To access this funding package, contact Amaze (Autism Victoria) or contact Lakeside Psychology for more information.
Parenting and Family Support
Our child psychologists work inclusively with parents, carers and families to help in achieving positive outcomes for children. We view parents as playing a vital role in the child’s therapy and aim to work together with parents to support them with strategies to try at home, identify helpful parenting approaches to suit the individual needs of their children, and identify opportunities to strengthen parent-child and family relationships. We aim to help parents feel empowered and support can be provided during a child’s appointment time, or separately in parent or family sessions to discuss ideas in greater detail.
Teacher & School Support
Our child psychologists place a high value in working alongside teachers, school staff any other relevant professionals that are working with children, to further help achieve positive outcomes. With consent from parents, we aim to maintain close working relationships with teachers to obtain feedback regarding a child’s engagement at school or kindergarten, and to discuss helpful strategies to support children in their education settings. Where helpful, we can conduct school/kindergarten visits for child observations or meet with teachers to further discuss plans to support children at school. We can also support school staff on a broader level with training and professional development for specific areas in mental health, social/emotional difficulties, behavioural concerns or developmental disorders (e.g., Autism Spectrum Disorder). Please contact us for more information.