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November 13, 1998/ 24 Cheshvan 5759, Vol. 51, No. 8
Check credentials of prospective psychotherapists
NANCY P. BRODY, PH.D.
Special to Jewish News
Once it is determined that a child would benefit from psychotherapy, parents have to decide which mental health professional to see. Different kinds of professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and counselors can be psychotherapists.
Typically, those with more advanced training and doctoral degrees charge higher fees than therapists with master's degrees. Parents should make sure the advanced degree is in the field in which the therapist is practicing. Typically, insurance companies will only pay for services performed by those with specific degrees and licenses.
A person with a master's degree in counseling or social work could also have a doctorate in mathematics, which would allow the person to put a "Ph.D" after his/her name (even though the person is still a "master's level" psychologist). Or, a person licensed as a master's level psychotherapist could have a doctorate (Ph.D.) in psychology but may have not fulfilled the requirements to become licensed as a psychologist.
If parents have questions about a psychotherapist's credentials or about what the letters after his/her name mean, they should ask.
Working with children is different from working with adults, and good adult therapists are not necessarily good child therapists, even if they are parents themselves. Psychotherapists for children should have extensive knowledge of child development and what behaviors are acceptable at different ages.
Psychotherapists working with children also should have at least some knowledge of learning difficulties and educational principles. Often there is a chicken-egg relationship between academic problems and emotional problems, and it may be necessary for the psychotherapist and the school staff to work together to help the child.
Flexibility is necessary when working with children, and the child psychotherapist needs to be familiar with a variety of techniques to assess and deal with children's problems, so that if one technique doesn't work, the therapist can take a different approach.
Play therapy can give children an opportunity to express concerns in a non-threatening way. In order for an activity to be play therapy, not just play, it is necessary that the psychotherapists have a theoretical basis for what they are doing and specific goals they hope to accomplish.
There also are several therapeutic games that can be used to help the child psychotherapist, but like play toys, they should be a means to a desired end. Parents have a right to ask about the purpose of each activity. If the psychotherapist does not know how to use toys and games therapeutically, parents may be paying a lot of money for little more than their child's play date with an adult.
Nancy Brody, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist with offices in Scottsdale.
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