01
Changes in behaviour
Significant changes in mood, sleep, appetite, or the way they relate to others. Tantrums out of proportion to their age, withdrawal, new or recurring aggressiveness.
Children · Adolescents · Families
Children and adolescents need a different kind of listening — one that respects their world, their language, their time. We work with them, and with those who care for them.
What it is
Child and adolescent psychology is a specialised clinical field. Working with a 6-year-old child is not the same as working with a 14-year-old adolescent — and neither is the same as working with an adult.
We adapt the setting, the language and the resources to each child's age. Play, drawing and narrative are legitimate clinical pathways — often the only possible ones. We do not infantilise the work: we use them with technical seriousness.
Every child is, above all, a relational system. To accompany a child is always also to accompany the adults who sustain them. Psingular · Paediatric Psychology
That is why work with children always includes liaison with the family and, when it makes sense, with the school. Not to dilute clinical responsibility — but to extend it with care.
When it makes sense to seek it
Every child is different — and not everything that may look like a problem is, in fact, a problem. But there are situations in which it is worth asking for a clinical assessment:
Significant changes in mood, sleep, appetite, or the way they relate to others. Tantrums out of proportion to their age, withdrawal, new or recurring aggressiveness.
Drops in performance, refusal to go to school, conflicts with classmates or teachers, difficulties with attention and concentration. Identifying the root before applying a label.
Persistent fears, somatic complaints (tummy aches, headaches), excessive perfectionism, difficulties with separation. Signs that call for a careful reading.
Conflicts with the family, social withdrawal, abrupt changes in behaviour or friendships, loss of interest, depressive symptoms, self-harm. Adolescence deserves a space of its own.
Parents' divorce, bereavement, moving town or school, illness in the family, the birth of a sibling. Children need space to work things through — not just time to "get over it".
Sometimes the adult senses that something is going on before being able to say what. That parental or educational intuition deserves to be heard — and has a place in a first exploratory consultation.
The process
Accompanying a child also means accompanying those who sustain them. Each process is designed case by case — but there are typical moments.
The child always remains at the centre of the work. Parents or caregivers are partners, not mere informants.
Without the child present. To understand the reason for the request, the developmental history, the family and school context, and what is at stake.
Two to four sessions with the child — adapted to their age. Playing, drawing, talking. Building a clinical understanding of what is happening beyond the symptom.
A conversation with the parents to share the clinical reading and design the plan of care — which may involve psychotherapy, parental guidance, school liaison, or other forms of support.
Regular sessions with the child or adolescent, with periodic meetings with the family. Liaison with the school and other professionals whenever necessary.
"Every child is a world. Listening to them is the most delicate task — and the most political — in all of clinical work."Françoise Dolto · La Cause des enfants
Practical details
Sessions usually last 45 to 50 minutes, adjusted to the capacity of each child or adolescent.
Usual frequency: weekly in more intensive cases, possibly becoming fortnightly during phases of consolidation.
A room equipped with materials for play, drawing and symbolic games — genuine clinical resources, not mere entertainment.
The setting is in person, in Braga. Online consultation is rarely compatible with work with children.
Periodic meetings with the family. Liaison with the school, paediatrician or other professionals whenever clinically justified.
All communication with third parties requires the written authorisation of the legal representatives.
Frequently asked questions
The assessment consultation does not commit you to continuing. It is simply a chance to get to know each other and to see, together, whether it makes sense for us to work together.