As a child psychotherapist working for a private agency, the bottom line of all treatment is money. The insurance companies bottom line is money.
My particular agency, and many insurance companies are moving towards "brief therapy," teaching people how to fix their lives in three sessions. At six sessions a revised treatment plan is necessitated, and a justification for every therapeutic approach, and outcome is required.
Maybe, just maybe, a therapist would be able to educate and teach an adult coping skills that they could apply to many aspects of their life. It would not help to resolve numerous deep rooted emotional issues but it would be a launching point for them to continue to apply their coping skills at home in their daily lives.
With children, I believe it is a whole other story. At 6 years old, I do not think in three sessions they have the capacity to learn coping skills to apply to their lives. The have limited experiences to draw from and would certainly benefit from more therapy and processing time. If a 6 year old is needing to see a therapist, the problems at home and school must be great to necessitate this type of intervention. Some of the time it is the parents who are causing their child's issues. Alcoholic parents who neglect their children, severe cases of child abuse, nasty divorce proceedings to name a few. So can I fix a child in three sessions? I don't think so. Can I just wave my magic wand and fix them? I wish, but I am afraid not.
Insurance companies, could your executives forgo their yachts this year, maybe give up the Cape Cod beach house? Is there really a monetary price when it comes to a child's mental health? When my office may be the only sane and safe place, a refuse of sorts, why take that away from them?
