Help to understand big feelings
How I work
I am an integrative child counsellor, working with 4-16 year olds. I use play, movement and arts to work on strong emotions, helping children to understand the big emotions they are feeling, what they are trying to express and help them understand what is going on for them. Some of the strong sensations they experience are pre-verbal, forming before they could talk. So they need to be able to put words to their feelings.
Wired differently
With the older children we talk about what’s going on in their brains – why they feel specific emotions and why it’s difficult to make good choices in challenging moments. I tell teenagers about their teenage brains and how they are wired differently, and let them know there will come a time when they will feel ok and see things differently. I talk about brain chemistry, the upstairs and downstairs brain, what is going on in their body, what their symptoms are as they are about to explode, so they can start to notice this in themselves.
We work with games, painting, clay, slime, spray painting, cornflour, physio balls, wobble boards, movement.
“My daughter has struggled with confidence and has hated school, finding the work difficult and relationships hard. She has been angry and sad at home with emotional outbursts being a daily occurrence. Through working with Chandra she has found ways to express what she is feeling. By making things and playing, which she loves, she has found it easier to express what she is feeling. This has helped me as her Mum to navigate her difficulties and to understand what I can do differently to help her. Chandra has taught me the PACE method of parenting which has given me the tools to understand how to be the best parent for her and support her. Our relationship is flourishing, she tells me her feelings and empathy is growing and growing between us. I couldn’t be more grateful to Chandra for this gift and the openness with which she supports my daughter and our relationship.”
RG