Children, no matter what age, want their parents’ love, respect, and admiration. From a child’s perspective that love, respect, and admiration are like a pie. There is only so much to go around and, if my siblings have more, there is less for me. It’s surprising how long such feelings can persist, but we all know people who feel jealous and resentful of their siblings well into adulthood, even when they have successful careers, friends, and families of their own.

Anorexia Nervosa (AN) and Bulimia Nervosa (BN) are eating disorders which generally develop in teenage girls and young women living in Western countries. Both are relatively uncommon, affecting 2-3 percent of women but are considered to be “the most dangerous of mental disorders” because of the “significant risks to physical health” and “impact on day-to-day functioning” (Walsh et al.2020, p. 3).

Whereas grief is defined as deep sorrow and distress over the loss of a loved one, mourning is the process of adapting to the loss and finding new meaning in life. Traumatic grief is grief that prevents or interferes with the mourning process, and in children, traumatic grief can interfere with their social, emotional, and cognitive development.

Leo Kanner, an American child psychiatrist, first used the term, “infantile autism” in 1943 to describe children who, he believed, were happiest alone, living in a shell and “oblivious” to everything around them. Since then, much research and effort has been undertaken to help the many children and families affected by autism.

Due to medical advances, more and more children survive childhood cancer but recent studies show that, even after successful treatment, there are enduring physical, educational, social and emotional costs.

Catch Collaborative Psychotherapy for Children was created to support the healthy development of children who are experiencing mental health and behavioral challenges at school. We believe that schools are the best place to address and treat children with mental health challenges because that’s where children spend the majority of their time – it’s where they learn, socialize, eat, and grow up.

Over the past fifteen years, the concept of ‘mentalization’ has become important in child development and psychotherapy. Mentalization is the ability to understand that people behave in meaningful ways according to their feelings, needs, and perceptions.

Through active, imaginative play children express their thoughts and feelings, adopt different roles and perspectives, and organize the world on their own terms.

Schools are closed, daycare centres are closed, libraries are closed, parks and playgrounds are closed. Parents are forced to be with their children 24/7, work from home, and balance the demands of both work and childcare. For unemployed parents, without income, the anxiety about rent and food is all consuming.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) include a range of stressful or traumatic experiences that infants and children may be exposed to during their development. These include physical, sexual and emotional abuse, neglect, family violence, mental illness, substance abuse, parental separation, and parental incarceration.