Unfortunately, booking therapy appointment times that suit everyone involved can be difficult. The most popular scheduling blocks tend to be the hours after the school or work day, so these can be booked up fast. This can be especially true for free mental health services that are often overprescribed and have long wait lists.
If your child is in therapy, they may feel like their time is a precious commodity – something might have to go by the wayside, but what? Their mental health is a priority, so time for looking after it should always take the lead. Yet, this doesn’t mean that their schoolwork has to suffer. The following tips can help you and your child manage schoolwork while in therapy.
Set Reasonable Goals:
Grades are not always the benchmark of success. If therapy is taking up a lot of your time, it might be unreasonable for your child to expect to get straight As. Therefore, help them make their academic goals specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-specific (SMART). This way, they can feel a sense of mastery and success when they achieve instead of perceiving themselves to have failed.
Reduce Stress:
When teens are stressed about balancing their workload, they’re prone to using procrastination as an unhealthy coping tool. However, procrastination can worsen mental health issues and further impact school work. Creating a hierarchy of tasks can reduce procrastination and stress.
There are two ways of working this hierarchy: The first is to tackle harder tasks first. This way, a teen can feel like they’ve gotten the difficult parts of the day out of the way. The second is to start by ticking off easier tasks, giving them the chance to build up confidence for confronting the harder ones. Either way, they’ll likely gain a sense of accomplishment and feel less stressed. Other useful ways of reducing stress include mindfulness techniques and meditation.9
Focus on Progress, Not Outcomes:
Results might be out of your child’s control; their treatment might interfere with their ability to focus and time might not be on their side. However, progress can be measured, so focusing on it can reduce frustration and improve a sense of balance and well-being.
To encourage progress instead of outcomes, you could help them create internal measures of their success. For example, by assisting them in breaking larger goals into smaller components and being flexible about what they can achieve. Small rewards for making progress can also be highly motivating. As another point, encourage your child not to compare themselves to other students as this can create an unfair comparison effect.10
Consider Private Mental Health Services:
As the case currently stands, public mental health services have long wait lists and limited appointment times. Due to demand, the appointment times that are less likely to interfere with school work tend to be booked up fast. If therapy is interfering with your child’s academic performance, it may be worth considering private mental health services. Cost is a factor for many families, but a mental health professional can discuss payment options that may fit your means. Additionally, private mental health services can offer flexible therapy options that can fit your child’s schedule and needs, including:
