Photo: Ashraf Uddin Apu
What are some of the common problems you have to treat in the field of child psychology?
The major conflicts come with the parents imposing their aspirations upon their children; many are concerned with the child’s career choices in the future. This leads to anger, depression and overall frustration with life.
What methods or strategies do you find to be the most effective in your practice-strategic or solution oriented practices?
We implement the strategic method because it is ultimately about teaching the child to evaluate a situation and identify the solution. It helps assess situations based on behavioural and cognitive formula. If we use the solution oriented practice, that does not promote growth.
How do you arrive at a diagnosis?
We have a number of specific criteria based on internationally recognised guidelines to diagnose a particular disorder or problem. For various stages of childhood we take into account symptoms, features and behaviour patterns.
Psychologists practice both projective and objective testing; which one do you find more effective?
Projective testing is a psychoanalytical test, which is not commonly practised in Bangladesh. There is an objective scale for a number of neuropsychological tests for depression, anxiety, school avoidance or withdrawal and trauma.
What is one very common stigma or stereotype that parents have about psychological intervention with their children?
The stigma towards psychological intervention actually stems from the British colonialism period during which the Lunacy Act stated that those children who were clinically diagnosed with a psychological disorder were not allowed to inherit from their parents. In addition, the societal misconception is that counselling is just for those who are ‘insane’ or mentally handicapped. We don’t readily accept that every person thinks according to his or her own parameters.
Authoritative parenting is a common problem in Bangladesh. In what situations, would you say it’s appropriate for parents to be super-involved in their kids’ lives or even ‘push’ their children?
This is an extremely common problem in which parents as well as many teachers dictate every aspect of a child’s life. The result of this is that the child develops no sense of self-confidence or tends to feel invaluable to the family. When these dependent children grow up, they need to seek approval for every decision in their adult lives because they have no psychological backbone. We encourage the family to incorporate the child in all decisions, which teaches them essential deductive skills.
How would you encourage hesitant teenagers to come to psychologists?
Children are very hesitant to come to a psychologist because they see them as another adult. Therefore we enforce the idea of patient doctor confidentiality. The child or teenager should know that what they are discussing during the session is completely between them and the counsellor. We will help them address the issue with the help of their parents, however a great sense of trust is imperative.
Do you encourage parents to join their children for a few sessions in order to allow for some intervention if necessary or do you believe that the child should directly work on the solution with their parents?
Given that a child in our society is raised by a number of relatives such as uncles, aunts and grandparents, each of these adults may have conflicting opinions regarding the child’s upbringing. Therefore, after we have identified the problem, we conduct sessions with the family in order to have a unanimous regimen.
With the increasing number of extra-curricular activities and educational requirements, teenagers tend to become overwhelmed. Do you think it is healthy to motivate the child to aspire to do better?
A large majority of our nation adheres to this unhealthy practice because they do not know ways of acquiring knowledge. We focus on academic learning and not other types of learning such as what can be administered through socialising, listening and speaking as well as experiencing. This puts pressure on one part of the brain while the other parts do not develop as well as they should. Eventually, this child becomes frustrated with any new information. We need to teach them that knowledge is for application in life.
What change would you like to see regarding psychological practices in Bangladesh in the near future?
We have to implement child counselling from home, school and the health sector. For example, adolescents undergo many biological changes, which must be addressed through education so they don’t feel embarrassed or maladjusted. We need a three-step process which primarily provides a healthy environment, followed by available counselling for those children who cannot alleviate certain problems. Finally psychotherapy should be given to those extreme cases where other interventions do no avail. This will provide for a much healthier society.