Understanding children does not begin only with looking at their behaviour.
What children go through is not always put into words. Sometimes it shows in the same story that appears again and again in play, sometimes in a behaviour, sometimes in silence, and sometimes in the relationship with their parents.
Art of Mind is an independent counselling practice offering counselling for children, teenagers and parents.
In the work, the child’s age, developmental characteristics, family and life circumstances, and the issue they bring to counselling are considered together. Where appropriate, methods such as play, creative work, mindfulness and body awareness may be used. But no single method is applied to every child in the same way.
The aim is not to fit a child to a certain behaviour, but to understand what the difficulty is telling us and to create a space where the child can express themselves more safely.
Sessions are held in Turkish and English. Online and in-person sessions in Helmond are both available.
You are welcome to get in touch for an introductory conversation.
Who is the work for?
Children
Children are not always expected to describe their difficulties directly. Play, drawing, movement and behaviours that appear within relationships can carry important clues about a child’s world.
In work with children, space is made for the child’s own pace and way of expressing themselves. Sessions can take shape around feelings, behaviour, relationships, times of change, school life, siblings, changes in the family, or other situations in which the child finds it hard to express themselves.
Teenagers
In adolescence and young adulthood, a person builds their own identity while also reshaping their relationships with family, friends, school and social circle.
In sessions with teenagers, there is space to talk, to think and, when helpful, to work with creative methods. What the young person brings is at the centre.
Parents
When trying to understand a child’s behaviour, looking at the child alone is often not enough.
In parent counselling, the child’s behaviour, their needs, the relationships in the family and the feelings the parent is going through can be considered together.
The aim is not to hand the parent a ready-made list of “right parenting”.
What can be discussed at Art of Mind?
Counselling is not limited to a single symptom or behaviour.
Why play?
For a child, play is more than fun.
During play, children try out relationships, rebuild situations they cannot control, express fears and wishes symbolically, and try to make sense of the world around them.
That is why, when working with a child, instead of only saying “tell me about it”, it matters to create a space of communication where the child can express themselves more naturally.
In play-based work, the child is not given a ready-made script. The play the child chooses, its repetitions, relationships and emerging themes are observed carefully.
Sometimes the issue is not the child’s behaviour.
A child’s behaviour can be hard for a parent. But very different needs or experiences may lie behind the same behaviour.
That is why, at Art of Mind, alongside the question “How can we stop this behaviour?”, there is also room for questions such as what the child may be trying to say through it, within which relationships it appears, and the influence of the developmental stage and changes in the family.
Counselling in Turkish and English
In families living with more than one language and culture, a child’s experience cannot be understood through language alone.
Which language is spoken at home, which country the child was born in, which countries they have lived in, the different cultural backgrounds of family members and where the child feels they belong can all be parts of a whole.
At Art of Mind, sessions can be held in Turkish or English.
The first step
The first meeting does not mean starting regular sessions straight away.
First, why the family has come, the child’s situation and expectations are discussed. Together we consider whether Art of Mind is a suitable counselling space for the need.
If it seems not to be suitable, turning to a different professional for support is also discussed openly.