Recognising the Signs: How to Know When Your Child or Teen Needs Support

Parenting children and adolescents comes with its fair share of joy, growth and unexpected challenges. As young people navigate school, friendships, family dynamics and their developing identity, emotional ups and downs are entirely normal. However, when struggles persist, professional guidance can provide the gentle, structured support needed to restore balance and wellbeing.

Below are the key signs that your child or teen may benefit from extra support, and how counselling for teens and adolescents can help your whole family.

Key Indicators That Your Child May Need Support

1. Significant Changes in Mood or Emotional Expression

While occasional moodiness is part of growing up, persistent emotional shifts warrant gentle attention:

• Unusual Irritability: Expressing anger or outbursts disproportionate to the situation.
• Prolonged Sadness: Continuous lack of enthusiasm, frequent crying or feeling hopeless.
• Excessive Worry: Constant fear, intrusive worries or physical symptoms like stomach aches before school.

2. Social Withdrawal and Isolation

Adolescents naturally seek independence, but complete detachment can signal underlying emotional distress:

• Retreating from family activities, passions or hobbies they once loved.
• Isolating completely from friends, or sudden, drastic changes in peer groups.
• Expressing feelings of extreme loneliness or detachment from loved ones.

3. Changes in Academic Performance and School Engagement

Emotional burdens frequently show up at school through noticeable behavioural shifts:

• A sudden, unexplained drop in grades or complete loss of school motivation.
• Expressing intense dread or outright refusal to attend school (school avoidance).
• Frequent contact from teachers about concentration difficulties or behavioural issues.

4. Disruptions in Daily Habits and Routines

Physical habits often act as a clear indicator when a child is struggling internally:

• Sleep Disturbances: Insomnia, frequent nightmares, waking up tired or excessive sleeping.
• Changes in Appetite: Significant loss of appetite or reliance on emotional eating.
• Behavioural Regression: Reverting to earlier habits like bedwetting, or extreme separation anxiety.

5. Navigating Life Transitions, Loss or Trauma

Children and teens process major changes differently to adults and often need extra support during:

• Parent separation, divorce or a significant family restructure.
• Grief following the loss of a loved one, friend or family pet.
• Moving homes, changing schools or adapting to unfamiliar social settings.
• Experiences involving peer conflict, bullying or stressful events.

If your family is going through one of these changes, family counselling can help everyone adjust together, and trauma counselling can support a young person after a distressing event.

6. Expressions of Worthlessness or Self-Harm

If your child speaks negatively about their self-worth (for example, “I’m a failure” or “Things would be better without me”) or shows any signs of self-harm, it is essential to seek professional support immediately.

If your child is in immediate danger, call 000. For urgent support, young people can call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 at any time, and parents can call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

How Counselling Can Support Your Family

At Breathe Counselling, our team provides a safe, non-judgemental space tailored to meet children and teenagers right where they are. Through collaborative, age-appropriate, person-centred sessions, therapy can help young people:

• Develop Healthy Coping Strategies: Learn effective ways to regulate emotions, manage worry and navigate stress.
• Build Self-Esteem and Confidence: Restore a healthy sense of self-worth and self-understanding.
• Improve Communication: Build trust and express thoughts and feelings constructively within family and social settings.
• Heal and Restore: Work through past trauma, grief or major life changes in a safe, peaceful setting.

Parents often benefit from support too. Our parenting counselling gives you practical tools to support your child at home while they work through their challenges.

Taking the First Step Together

Recognising that your child needs extra support is a brave and loving first step. You don’t have to navigate these challenges alone.

We offer confidential face-to-face sessions at our clinics across Perth and regional Western Australia, as well as secure telehealth options. No GP referral is required to book a session with our counselling team.

If you would like to explore how we can support your child or teen, feel free to contact our team today or book an appointment online. Together, we can help your family find a safe place to breathe, reflect and grow.