3 Complementary Therapies to Help Your Child Cope in a Stressful World
A Brief Overview of EFT, Hypnotherapy, and Havening for Children
As a parent, carer, or teacher, you care about children. You want them to be healthy and happy. Most of all, you want to set them up for success!
Complementary (alternative) therapies are enriching experiences for almost any child. Maybe the child in your life is well-adjusted and you want to help them navigate life a little better. Or perhaps they’re struggling with something specific and need extra help. Whatever the case, there’s a wonderful complementary therapy out there for your child. Let’s look at a few of them.
EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)
EFT is sometimes called psychological acupressure. It’s like acupuncture, but it’s ideal for children because it’s done with no needles. Children tap on acupressure points while naming their stress, then say that they love and accept themselves.
EFT is easily modified for children. Fewer acupressure points are used, language is simplified, and the sessions are shorter. Even with modifications, EFT is effective for children. Kids have fewer layers of emotional baggage to work through! They can work through an emotional issue in fewer sessions than the average adult.
During an EFT session with a child, you’ll ask them what’s bothering them. For example, let’s say they tell you that they hate going to school. Keep their exact words in mind, and don’t change them to be more specific or more grown-up sounding. It’s important they speak and hear their own words during an EFT session. You’ll begin tapping on yourself so they can mirror you, or you can even tap for them! As you move through the tapping points, you will say their tapping phrase so they can repeat you. It might be something like:
“Even though I hate going to school, I’m a good kid.”
As you and your child tap, you can ask them things like:
What were the best and worst parts of your day?
What are you worried about tomorrow?
What are you excited about?
Does any part of your body hurt when you feel worried (tummy, head, chest, etc)?
Repeat a round or two as long as they still want to. Be sure not to force them or insist too much. Children respond better to EFT when they actually want to do it themselves!
“EFT often produces results a lot more quickly with children, as they don’t have the same amount of emotional baggage as adults do. They’re not caught up in the “how’s” and “why’s”, they just want to feel better.” — Catharine Ross
Here are some ways that EFT can benefit children:
Increases self-esteem and confidence
Eases test anxiety
Relieves pain
Eases performance anxiety around sports and other extracurricular activities
Helps process emotions surrounding tough life events like changing schools, divorce, or the death of a family member or pet
Increases emotional awareness and intelligence
Helps cope with trauma
EFT is appropriate for all children. Whether your child is working through a trauma, or you want to help them cope better with what life throws their way, EFT can help. To learn more, check out this informational booklet from Evidence Based EFT. And reach out to Stephanie Newton at Diamond Hypnotherapy. She’s a certified EFT practitioner and the perfect guide to help you explore this exciting therapy!
The best thing about hypnotherapy for children is that they get to problem-solve with their imaginations. And what do children have if not rich imaginations and open minds? Children are highly suggestible, making them ideal candidates for hypnotherapy.
As adults, it’s easy to forget how stressful being a child can be. Even the most well-adjusted children face challenges as they discover, learn, and grow. And of course, there are the children facing trauma and learning difficulties. Hypnotherapy can help with it all.
“Paediatric hypnotherapy for children is one of the most effective therapies, transforming children’s lives through visualisation, hypnosis and other imaginative methods. Hypnosis is rewarding, fast and unique.” — Paul White, Registered Hypnotherapist
Hypnosis works by inducing a relaxed state and making suggestions to the subconscious. In this way, a child’s outer world can change. And if you’re nervous about trying hypnotherapy for your child? Most hypnotherapists encourage parental involvement! Therapy often begins by getting to know the child and parents. Everyone decides on a game plan together. Therapy consists of kid-friendly approaches such as stories, visualisation, imagining, and pretending.
Hypnotherapy can help children with countless issues. Here are just a few:
Bed-wetting
Divorce in the family
Low self-esteem and confidence
Grief and loss
Learning problems
Speech difficulties
Thumb-sucking
There are so many benefits that come with hypnotherapy. But best of all, it doesn’t feel like traditional therapy. Hypnosis can be a relaxing, fun, rewarding experience for your child and for you!
If you think hypnotherapy is a good option for your child, the next step is reaching out to a professional. Not only Stephanie is a registered hypnotherapist she is also a fully qualified primary teacher and has experience working with children. She is DBS cleared. She offers free consultations. Reach out to her today!
Havening
Finally, let’s take a look at Havening Techniques as a complementary therapy for children. Derived from the word “haven”, Havening Techniques are all about processing and letting go of trauma, negative emotions, and stressful past experiences. Havening helps children in three ways:
Addresses emotional disturbances and psychological trauma
Helps with wellness, stress management, and peak performance
Gives them a self-help tool they can use for life
The beauty of Havening for children is how easy it is for them to learn and emulate. It’s touch therapy meant to generate delta brain waves by touching the hands, upper arms, and face. Children who don’t want to be touched can apply Havening Touch to themselves.
“Using simple touch, we can release a hormone in the brain called GABA and at the same time create something called DELTA, which causes individuals to become very relaxed and feel safe. If there’s an individual event like a car accident or violence at home, these can encode as trauma. Havening can address those as well.” — Dr. Ronald Ruden, creator of Havening Techniques
A Havening session for your child can take as little as 10-15 minutes. During the session, your practitioner will help your child identify the issue. Then she’ll guide them through a process of comforting and therapeutic touch, visualisation, and imagination. It’s meant to provide a safe emotional space for processing bad feelings and finally letting them go.
While Havening Techniques can be a self-help tool, it’s essential that a guide helps you at first. Reach out to Stephanie at Diamond Hypnotherapy for a consultation about Havening today! She’s a certified practitioner of Havening Techniques. And she will put you and your child right at ease as you learn about Havening.
Closing Thoughts
The days of relying solely on your general practitioner or paediatrician are over! There are so many exciting complementary therapies out there. Many of them are totally safe and appropriate for your child. Thinking outside the box when it comes to your child’s well-being has never been easier.
Stephanie at Diamond Hypnotherapy is certified in ALL THREE of the therapies discussed in this article; EFT, Hypnotherapy, and Havening Techniques. Whichever one you choose, she’s ready for your call and the best resource for introducing your child to a life-changing therapy. She offers free consultations and virtual sessions. Get in touch with her today!
Sources
Havening Techniques- Better Living Through Neuroscience
Hypnotherapy for children for anxiety, eating & confidence
https://www.sich.co.uk/hypnotherapy/hypnotherapy-for-children/
Tapping with Children: A General Overview of Tapping, Evidence Based EFT, Jan. 2018,
https://evidencebasedeft.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1342_TITC_Tapping-with-Children-Booklet_.pdf
