Counselling HQ is a child and Adolescent therapy service. As well as covering home and school issues we specialise in post traumatic stress PTSD in children and adolescents.

Following a traumatic event, youth with anxiety can also suffer from PTSD, reporting intrusive symptoms such as repetitive and upsetting memories that can present verbally, “I can’t stop hearing that crunch noise when the car hit the tree,” or acted out in play such as a child repeatedly hitting a toy car against the wall. Other intrusive symptoms include distressing and vivid night and day dreams (also called flashbacks whereby the child acts as if the events is actually happening in real time), and becoming highly distressed when exposed to reminders of the event. Youth can also avoid or try to stay away from any reminders of the event, report inability to recall significant details of the event, experience a range of negative emotions such as sadness, guilt, shame, and confusion, and lack interest or desire to participate in important activities.

Finally, children and teens with PTSD also experience irritability, being jumpy or on edge, trouble concentrating, and sleep difficulties. These combined symptoms must persist for more than a month following the event to meet criteria for PTSD, Some children and teens may experience a delayed reaction to the trauma so that clear signs are not noticeable until six months or more after the event, e.g. a death in the family.