Knowing When to Seek Professional Help for a Hurting Child
When you work with kids who are hurting from any variety of circumstances, it is important to know when you are in “over your head” and when you need to seek professional help for the child.
Know your limitations
For those us who are passionate about helping kids and/or who have worked with kids for some time, we sometimes want to do it all ourselves to make sure that child we are working with is helped. It’s easy to lose site of the fact that sometimes our ability and skills just aren’t enough. If we really want to help these kids, we need to be able to recognize when we need to get a Professional Counselor, Psychologist or Psychiatrist involved.
If you work closely with kids, there will be times when you will need to be prepared to refer a child to a professional. You should be prepared for this eventuality by compiling and keeping a list of Christian Counselor and other professionals in your area that you can refer kids (and their families) to.
Know the Signs that Professional Help May Be Needed
If a child your are working with exhibits any of the following signs consistently, you should consider the need to refer to another professional:
- Poor concentration
- Sleep problems
- Changes in behavior
- Trouble at school
- Aggressive behavior
- Withdrawn
- Refusal to participate in loved activities
- Not sharing/talking
- Deteriorating relationships
- Excessive anger
- Blaming themselves
- Behavioral changes
- Self-injury, cutting, eating disorders
- Suicidal thoughts/actions
Stay Involved
It is important to know when to refer a child to a professional. It is equally important that after you refer that child that you stay involved in their life. Referring a child to a profession does not mean that you step out of the situation. When you refer to a professional, you are not replacing yourself on the team of people helping the child, you are expanding the team!
