Child and Adolescent Psychology for Newcastle and Lake Macquarie

Seeking a child psychologist for your child may be beneficial when you notice persistent emotional, behavioural, or developmental issues that seem to go beyond typical childhood challenges. If you are unsure, you could speak to your GP and/or come and speak to one of our friendly psychologists to see if support is recommended at this time.

Here are some situations where seeing a child psychologist might be helpful:

1. Emotional Concerns

• Excessive anxiety, fear, or worry that interferes with daily activities.

• Signs of depression, such as persistent sadness, withdrawal from activities, or changes in sleep and appetite.

• When your child is hurting themselves or speaking about suicide or wanting to escape their life.

• Low self-esteem or feelings of worthlessness or when your child speaks negatively about their self, abilities, or appearance often.

2. Behavioural Challenges

• Frequent tantrums or outbursts that are difficult to manage.

• Aggressive or destructive behaviours toward others, property or self.

• Persistent oppositional behaviour, defiance, avoidance of tasks or refusal.

• Difficulty following rules at home or school, leading to strain on relationships or impacting learning or others.

3. Social Difficulties

• Problems making or keeping friends.

• Social withdrawal or difficulty interacting with peers.

• Bullying or being bullied and not knowing how to cope.

4. Academic Struggles

• Significant drop in school performance or struggling to keep up with peers.

• Difficulty with focus, attention, or learning, particularly after any adjustments or additional support the school has made to assist your child has not been enough.

• Significant anxiety and or physical symptom complaints (headaches, stomach pain etc) about the idea of going to school.

• Refusal to attend school.

5. Developmental Delays

• Delayed milestones, such as speech, motor skills, toileting and or social skills.

• Regression in skills (e.g., sudden loss of skills already acquired in speech, toilet training, motor skills, following instructions or completing tasks).

6. Trauma or Life Changes

• Major life events such as divorce, co-parenting changes, death of a loved one, or a move.

• Exposure to traumatic events (e.g., accidents, abuse, natural disasters).

7. Chronic Physical Symptoms

• Persistent physical complaints (e.g., stomach aches, headaches) with no clear medical cause, possibly indicating stress or emotional distress.

8. Family Conflicts

• Difficulty managing parent-child relationships or family dynamics (co-parenting) that cause significant distress on the child.

9. Concerns About ADHD, Autism, or Learning Difficulties

• Ongoing academic struggles, persistent concentration/attention issues or difficulties with communication skills, repetitive behaviour or restricted interests may indicate difficulties that would be worth discussing with a child psychologist.

Yes, our child psychologists can assess for both autism and ADHD. They typically use a combination of interviews, behavioural assessments, and standardised tests to evaluate a child's developmental, social, and cognitive functioning. It's important for the psychologist to gather information from parents, teachers, and other caregivers to make an accurate diagnosis.

Here is a detailed overview of how a child psychologist assesses autism and ADHD:

Assessment Process:

1. Consultations:

The process typically begins with an initial meeting and often subsequent meetings with the psychologist, child, and their parents or guardians. During this consultation phase, the psychologist gathers information about the child's development, behaviour, strengths, difficulties, and any concerns the parents may have. The psychologist will also spend time with the child/adolescent to speak to them about their strengths and weakness and any concerns they have, as well as explore their experiences of school, home life, learning, friendships etc.

 2. Clinical Interviews/observations:

The psychologist conducts semi-structured and or standardised interviews with the child and family members to understand the child’s social interactions, communication skills, and behavioural patterns. This helps identify any signs of autism or ADHD or both given the high rates of co-occurrence. During this time, we also explore other potential factors impacting the child's well-being, friendships, behaviour, or learning to ensure there is no better explanation for the child’s presentation and to provide holistic care for possible future intervention/ support needs.

3. Standardised Testing:

Various standardised assessment tools and questionnaires are used which vary based on what the clinician feels is beneficial. For autism, tools like the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2) and the Monteiro Interview Guidelines for Diagnosing the Autism Spectrum (MIGDAS-2) are commonly used. For ADHD, symptom rating scales like the Conners-4 Rating Scale, as well as the Young Diagnostic Interview of ADHD (DIVA-5), is used to assess attention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity challenges.

4. Collaboration:

Input from people who know your child well and know them in different settings is crucial. We value feedback from important people in the child’s life such as, teachers, school staff, counsellors, allied health professionals (speech therapy, occupational therapy etc), medical professionals (GP and paediatrician), and/or family (aunts, uncles, grandparents), close family friends and coaches. They can provide observations and information about the child’s behaviour as witnessed in their respective environments. We consult them through reading their professional reports if any are available, phone consultations, emails and/or by providing them with assessment screeners.

5. Diagnostic Criteria:

The psychologist then takes all the collected information and data and uses criteria from the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) to determine if the child meets the diagnostic criteria for autism or ADHD. This involves looking at specific symptoms, their severity, and their impact on the child’s daily functioning. We formulate this comprehensive information into a report and recommend possible support options and adjustments.

6. Feed Back Session:

At the end of this process, we provide a brief 30-minute feedback session to discuss results and any findings/diagnoses from the assessment and discuss recommendations moving forward. You will also be provided with a copy of the report to take home and read. If you would like more time to explore the report and or findings, this can be booked in with your treating psychologist and or the psychologist who conducted the assessment.

In summary, a child psychologist plays a vital role in diagnosing and understanding autism and ADHD, utilising a thorough approach that comprehensively considers all aspects of the child’s life.

No, you don’t need a referral to see a psychologist. You can book with us privately and pay the full fee, or you may wish to claim a rebate from your private health provider. It may be beneficial however, to visit your GP to see if you are eligible for a Mental Health Care Plan (MHCP) and referral which gives you access to a Medicare rebate on up to 10 sessions per calendar year (across two referrals). A referral also means that your GP involved in your treatment, ensuring a more holistic approach to your care and wellbeing.

Child psychology assists with understanding and supporting the emotional, social, and cognitive development of children from infancy through adolescence. Early psychological intervention can assist in addressing behavioural concerns, emotional regulation, and learning difficulties, ensuring children have the skills they need to thrive at home, school and with peer relationships.

Child psychology can support children in building resilience, improving their ability to manage emotions, and enhance their relationships, setting a strong foundation for lifelong mental health.

By understanding a young person’s unique strengths and challenges, we can equip parents and caregivers with effective strategies to support healthy growth, improve family dynamics, and optimise a young person’s well-being and quality of life.

A ‘Mental Health Care Plan’ (MHCP) is a part of Medicare’s ‘Better Access Initiative’ that aims to support individuals to access 10 Medicare rebates per calendar year on mental health services. The MHCP is a document created by your GP with you that outlines your mental health needs and strategies for managing them. The MHCP must be accompanied by a referral from your GP, that is made out to our clinic. Your first referral will be valid for 6 sessions and then you can visit your GP again for a MHCP review to receive another referral for the next 4 sessions.

Once we have a copy of your GP referral and MHCP, we can claim a Medicare rebate for you which will reduce the out-of-pocket cost of appointments. Your psychologist will also write to your GP to keep them informed of your progress/any challenges encountered.

To see if you are eligible for a Mental Health Care Plan, please book an appointment with your GP.

What and how much you tell your child about seeing a psychologist is very dependent on their age and development and how much they can understand. An important principle when talking to your child about seeing a psychologist is that it should never be discussed as being a consequence or punishment for behaviour, so don't bring it up in the "heat of the moment". Keep conversations calm, constructive and non-judgemental. Talk about how everyone (your child AND parents) will be going to learn new ways to solve a problem.

Give your child an age-appropriate description of what a psychologist does. For a young child, this might be something like, "a psychologist is like a doctor for our thoughts and feelings. They are going to help us learn what to do when we have big emotions to stay safe and feel better." For older children and teenagers, have a conversation about the concerns you have for them or the things that have been happening that you want help with. For example, "I have noticed you've been feeling worried a lot of the time, and a psychologist helps people with their worries and anxiety" or "we've noticed that you've been feeling angry or down a lot of the time and I know you're frustrated that we're losing our cool with you. We want to see a psychologist to help us all communicate better and for them to teach us better ways to support you." 

The structure of the sessions is likely to vary depending on the goal of the session. Sometimes both parent/s and child will be in the session together and sometimes the psychologist will see the parent and child individually. Age will likely be a factor here, with younger children having more parent involvement than older children or adolescents. During the first session, it is likely that the psychologist will spend more time individually with the parents so that they can gather information and allow parents to speak freely about current goals and challenges they would like to address.

Our therapy sessions typically last 50 minutes. This allows ample time to engage with the child, understand their needs, and work on personalised goals in a structured and meaningful way. We tailor each session to the child’s pace and level of engagement to ensure a comfortable and supportive experience.

An assessment session can last anywhere between 1-2 hours, depending on the type of assessment. Your child will be given the opportunity to take breaks when needed. In some assessment sessions, parents/caregivers are welcome to sit in with their child and the psychologist. In other assessments, the young person and the psychologist work together without the parent.

Healthy families are the backbone to strong communities and vice versa; as the saying goes, ‘it takes a village to raise a child.’ We believe that raising healthy young people is a community project. To understand the unique needs and challenges for any child and see them thrive can only be of value if those who nurture, guide, correct and encourage them are included. That is why we put an emphasis on whole of family involvement. Parents that are connected in the assessment or therapeutic process for children help create the right environment for lasting change.

At See Hear Speak we value the involvement of the entire family and therefore encourage both parents to attend appointments when possible. It is strongly recommended that both parents attend the first session so that the psychologist can explore different perspectives and experiences in the family regarding your child’s strengths and challenges. We understand that it’s unlikely that this will be practical for every session. After the first session, it is generally ok to just have one parent attend. That said, there may be times that your psychologist advises both parents to attend if it is relevant to treatment.

It is important that you are able to speak with the psychologist without distraction and take the time to focus on the child you are bringing for therapy. Siblings are welcome to visit with you if they are able to occupy themselves safely and quietly in the waiting room while you meet with the psychologist. It does get busy in the waiting room, so we do appreciate if you can limit the number of extra family members you bring along if possible.