Therapy and Kids

Many, if not most schools have a counselor, a social worker, therapist or psychologist on staff, full or part-time to address issues that come up with kid’s acting out, or being depressed, etc. If the child has undergone testing for reading issues or suspected learning disabilities or challenges, the school will recommend tutoring or refer the parents to more sophisticated testing, an outside therapist or psychologist, etc. This can get really thorny depending on the therapist, who engages them and for what reason. Therapists for minors ethically require both parents’ consent. This is one area where joint legal is important. Otherwise one party can put the child in with a therapist of their choice who will provide an opinion that the party paying them wants.
Never think that such “mental health” professionals are all the same or don’t have their own biases based on their own personal and professional experiences. Just like any line of work, there are the good, the bad and the ugly. Say a child has trouble sounding out words and reading. The kid gets tested and the psychologist gives recommendations, often for more therapy and more money.
I am cautious about some of these recommendations because the kid’s issues may not need an outsider to help, but a sensitive parent who can work with the other parent together.
But that’s the rub— it may not be the kid who has problems and needs a shrink...it’s the parents who each need one.