Therapy for mentally ill children

Therapy offer for children with mental disorders at the University of Frankfurt

The Outpatient Clinic for Behavioral Therapy at the University of Frankfurt has been offering further therapy places for children and adolescents with mental disorders since last Friday. Across Germany, there is a clear increase in mental disorders among children and adolescents. In many cases, carriers for therapy offers hardly lag behind to offer places in a timely manner.

In some cases, parents and children have to wait until one year in Germany for a therapy place. Due to the new offer of the Behavioral Therapy Outpatient Department of the University of Frankfurt am Main the waiting time should be reduced a bit. Among other things, help should be offered to children suffering from various forms of self-harm. „Self-injury is a symptom and an alarm signal“, explained the psychologist Judith Schwieger. The children and adolescents want with the so-called „scratch“ reduce emotional tension and control their feelings. Dipl. Social Worker Gritli Bertram said in a conversation with Heilpraxisnet.de: „The mostly young people feel an inner cutting pressure that they have to pursue. In therapy, however, constructive coping strategies can be learned“.

The physical pain is preferred in a self-injury to the mental pain, said also the psychologist Schwieger, who is also the director of the therapist training program at the outpatient clinic. Behind the self-injury are only deep mental problems. Trauma after sexual abuse occur as well as various stress situations, said the expert.

The best known type of self-injurious behavior is the so-called „scratch“ of the lower and upper arm. The arms are cut or scratched in different ways. Other sufferers resort to burns of the skin by means of heat or strong cold. Others swallow dangerous objects such as razor blades. In many cases, patients would not have learned other coping strategies, such as talking to friends or relatives in stressful or problematic situations. However, there are therapy approaches in which the young can learn to reduce tensions with more constructive stimuli. An alternative could be chewing an ice cube.

What sounds very simple, however, must first be learned step by step in the context of a therapy. It is important to find out what the actual causes are and why stress situations are repeatedly triggered. Only then could the boys and girls really be helped. Many adolescents conceal their self-harm against their parents. Even though parents learn about the destructive behavioral patterns of their children, many initially find themselves helpless. The psychologist advises affected parents not to panic, but to seek professional therapeutic help.

In parent talks u.a. teaches how parents can help their children recover. „Emotional benefits and understanding should be the first steps of parents to strengthen the course of therapy. Penalties and sanctions for self-injurious behavior would be contraindicated“ like social worker Bertram opposite „Heilpraxisnet.de“ explained. (Sb)

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