Frequently Asked Questions

The Child Psychology Service is a team of registered psychologists, counsellors and psychiatrists across New Zealand who specialise in supporting children, young people and their families.

They offer therapy, assessments, diagnosis and guidance to help with learning, behaviour and emotional wellbeing.

The service focuses on compassionate, evidence-based support tailored to each child’s unique needs.

Child psychologists are highly trained professionals who specialise in child development, mental health, learning, and behaviour.

In New Zealand they hold a master’s or doctoral degree in psychology and are registered with the New Zealand Psychologists Board.

They have advanced knowledge and skills in understanding the complex emotional, cognitive and behavioural needs of tamariki (children) and rangatahi (young people).

At The Child Psychology Service our child psychologists offer support in a way that is both evidence-based and personalised to each child’s unique situation.

They work collaboratively with whānau, schools and other professionals to provide a well-rounded, child-centred approach.

Key benefits of seeing a child psychologist

• Comprehensive Understanding. Psychologists don’t just look at one issue; they explore the whole picture of your child’s development, environment, learning needs and emotional world.

• Formal Assessments. Psychologists can assess for a range of concerns, including learning difficulties (e.g., dyslexia, dyscalculia), ADHD, autism, anxiety or emotional and behavioural challenges.

• Evidence Based Interventions. Psychologists provide structured, research-backed strategies and therapeutic approaches to support change over time.

• Tailored Support Plans. Interventions and recommendations are tailored to your child’s individual strengths, needs, and family context.

• Collaboration with Schools. Psychologists can support your child’s learning and wellbeing by working alongside teachers and school staff to improve outcomes in the classroom.

• Support for Families. Psychologists help parents better understand their child’s needs and offer tools to strengthen parent-child relationships and reduce stress at home.

When might I engage a child psychologist?

You may wish to work with a psychologist if your child:

• Is struggling with big emotions like anxiety, sadness, or anger

• Has difficulty learning or is falling behind at school

• Shows signs of attention or concentration problems

• social challenges, peer conflict, or withdrawal

• Has been through a traumatic or stressful life event

• behavioural issues that aren’t improving over time

• Needs a diagnosis or assessment for example to access learning support at school or understand the reasons for certain behaviours

• Would benefit from a clear plan for intervention and progress tracking

Child psychologists offer insight, support and a pathway forward. If you’re unsure whether psychology or counselling is right for your child, we’re happy to guide you through the options during your initial consultation.

At The Child Psychology Service we understand that navigating support for your child’s emotional or behavioural wellbeing can feel overwhelming. Two key professionals who can help are child psychologists and counsellors, each with different training, approaches, and areas of focus.

Child Psychologists

Child psychologists are highly trained professionals (with a master’s or doctoral degree) who specialise in understanding child development, mental health, learning and behaviour. They are registered with the New Zealand Psychologists Board and can carry out formal assessments, offer diagnoses (such as for ADHD, anxiety, or learning difficulties) and provide evidence-based interventions for complex or long-standing concerns.

Psychology sessions often involve structured therapeutic approaches and sometimes collaboration with schools, families and other services or professionals.

Counsellors

Counsellors are skilled, trained professionals who create a safe, supportive space for your child to talk about feelings, relationships, or difficulties they may be facing.

While they do not conduct assessments or make diagnoses, they offer emotional support, teach coping skills and help children build confidence, resilience and stronger relationships.

Counselling can be particularly helpful for children going through life changes, experiencing grief, friendship issues, school stress or low mood.

Our counsellors at The Child Psychology Service work closely with our psychology team and if a child’s needs become more complex or require formal assessment, we can guide families smoothly through that next step.

TCPS Counsellors are registered with the New Zealand Counsellor Association and hold a current practicing certificate.

If you’re unsure whether psychology or counselling is right for your child, we’re happy to guide you through the options during your initial consultation.

Yes. Including the information that your child shares with us.

However, if we feel you or your child are at risk of harm we may have to share information about you or your child. We will always inform you of our intention to do so where possible.

To help us make sure we’re offering you the right help we may share information between us as a team to ensure we are using our collective expertise, and also in supervision. In all cases the people we do discuss your case with are also bound by confidentiality.  

Psychologists can work with children on medication but do not prescribe medication. The support we provides is based on making positive behavioural changes and upskilling.

If we feel there may be a benefit to your child being seen by a professional who does prescribe medication such as a paediatrician or psychiatrist, then we will always discuss this with you first.

We will put together a safety plan when we meet with you to help you manage this, but if you have serious fears regarding your child’s safety or intent to harm themselves, please contact your GP as soon as possible.

Children grow up in family systems and our best work can be done when everyone is on the same page. At our first session we’ll put together a list of people in your family and those who are special to you and your child. We can work with any of these with your permission.

We work with children up to the age of 19 years old. With younger preschool children we tend to undertake an observation at day care or kindy and work with you as parents as you’re your child’s key person of influence. With older school age children we can still take this approach but will also undertake 1:1 sessions with them too.

All of our strategies are based on assessing the root of the issue and thinking about what strengths and resources you, your child and the school have at your disposal. We pride ourselves in being grounded and practical.

Is online psychological support as effective as face-to-face?

Covid-19 has presented us all with many challenges, and also many opportunities to work our way around those challenges. One of the big differences in our practice has been the use of online therapy and telehealth. Whilst younger children (under 12) still benefit greatly from having in-person sessions, we have found that we can effectively deliver therapeutic support online for parents, teachers, and adolescents.

The benefits of online therapy include:

– You often do not have such a long wait time as your psychologist can be anywhere in the country.

-You can choose a space and time suitable to you.

-More than one person can join from more than one location without having to re-arrange workdays (this is great for families that co-parent with people they no longer live with).

-Adolescents are actually quite used to navigating conversations online and we can share resources in real-time.

However your preference and comfort are at the heart of what we do, and we will work with you in the manner that suits you best.

What is a Specific Learning Difficulty (SLD)?

A Specific Learning Difficulty (SLD) is a type of learning challenge that affects how a person understands or uses spoken language or written text and numbers.

Common types include dyslexia (reading), dyscalculia (maths) and dysgraphia (writing).

SLDs are not related to intelligence or effort. Students with SLDs need targeted intervention to understand their situation and increase skill development.

What is an SLD assessment?

An SLD assessment is a process carried out by a qualified professional, such as an educational psychologist, to understand how a child learns, where their strengths are and where they may be experiencing difficulties.

The assessment can look at areas like reading, writing, spelling, maths, memory and processing skills.

This information, alongside that collected from the family and school, can then establish whether a child is likely experiencing learning difficulties such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia.

The assessment identifies next steps for skill development alongside key support strategies for use at home and school.

Why should I get my child assessed?

If your child is finding learning particularly hard in areas like reading, writing or maths, despite effort and support, an SLD assessment can help you understand why.

It identifies your child’s strengths and difficulties and provides a clear picture of why they are struggling, how they learn best and next steps.

This insight can guide the right support at home and school, boost their confidence, and support them to reach their full potential.

What will an assessment with a psychologist look like?

The programme is spread over 5 clear stages.

1. A one-hour initial meeting with parents to make sure that the Telehealth service will work for child & family, to gather information about your child and to make a plan moving forward.

The psychologist may need to contact the student’s teacher and the school SENCo. Further appointments for the assessment and the feedback meeting will also be booked at this point.

2. The assessment will take two 1.5 hour appointments (three hours in total)

3. The psychologist will need two hours to examine the results of the assessment and collate information into a report.

4. A one-hour feedback session to look at the results of the assessment and identify priority skills to teach during intervention.

Once a shared plan is made for intervention, the intervention sessions will be booked, with a review session booked in at the end to assess progress, discuss further work or to conclude the work.

5. Intervention & therapy. The intervention and therapy plan will vary according to individual needs.

[For example] for children with dyslexia, research shows that effective literacy intervention requires systematic and cumulative instruction. It should happen at least three times a week, for twenty minutes each session, over a total of twenty sessions.

To support the literacy intervention, the psychologist meets with the child and parent once a week for thirty minutes to complete an activity together.

On at least two other days each week, the parent and child continue the activities at home.

The programmes are digital and game-like. Scientific research has proven them to be effective.

The plan may also include activities to build thinking skills and support the child’s overall well-being.

Intervention is structured meet best-practice guidelines and research.

In summary an SLD assessment and report, including an initial consultation and a feedback session, intervention & therapy will take 13 hours.

Do I need to attend in person?

No, you can attend virtually via Telehealth.

What is Telehealth?

Telehealth allows you and your child to meet with a psychologist through secure video calls instead of in-person. It works much like a regular appointment, but from the comfort of your home. Telehealth is especially useful for families who live far away, have busy schedules, or prefer support in a familiar environment.

Research shows it can be just as effective as in-person sessions for many types of psychological support.

What’s the difference between intervention and therapy?

In child psychology, intervention usually refers to targeted strategies or support to help with a specific challenge like improving reading skills, managing behaviour or building emotional regulation. Therapy on the other hand often involves exploring emotions, experiences or relationships and to support overall mental health and wellbeing.

Both can be important, and sometimes they are used together to give your child the support they need.

What assessment tools are used?

An assessment tool is a structured way for psychologists to gather information about your child’s development, behaviour, emotions or learning. These tools might include questionnaires, checklists or tasks your child completes. They help the psychologist understand your child’s strengths and challenges so they can offer the right support and recommendations. There are different tools for different SLDs.

Will I get a report detailing the results of the assessment?

Yes, you will get a detailed report with the results of the assessment and some commentary and recommendations from your psychologist.

Is being assessed the same as getting a diagnosis?

Not always. An assessment is a detailed process where a psychologist gathers information to understand your child’s strengths, challenges and needs.

A diagnosis is a label that describes a specific condition like ADHD or dyslexia.

Not all assessments lead to a diagnosis; sometimes the goal is simply to better understand how to support your child’s learning or wellbeing.

What happens if I want to seek a diagnosis?

Your psychologist can work with you to seek an appointment with your preferred psychiatrist. TCPS has psychiatrists as part of the team. This is working as a Multi-Dispilinirary Team (MDT) and, we believe, it is the best-practice way of working to get the most of your assessment and to help your child and family in the best way possible.

What happens when I get the results of my child’s assessment?

Your psychologist will help you to understand what this means for you and your child and will work with you to provide literacy development and improve the underlying cognitive skills. There will also be broader psychological support where needed, such as building self-esteem and confidence, supporting emotional regulation, and addressing behavioural or health-related concerns.

How will getting assessed help my child?

An SLD assessment can help you understand why your child may be struggling with reading, writing or maths. It identifies their specific learning needs and provides clear recommendations for support at home and school. Early assessment can boost your child’s confidence, guide effective interventions and help them reach their full potential.

What if I think that my child might have other neurodiverse conditions such as ADHD and Autism?

This can be discussed at your initial meeting. Different assessments can be done with this in mind. In a similar way to SLD assessments a psychologist can help with understanding what this means and suggesting strategies to help. There may be additional cost for different assessments.

If you would like to discuss SLD assessment for your child please contact us.