Jo Doyle - Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist

Jo Doyle has worked in Christchurch as a Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist since 1996 and is now on the Sexual Violence Prevention Board and the Health Practioner's Disciplinary Board. After completing a BA she trained as a primary school teacher at Christchurch Teachers' College and taught in Te Anau before travelling overseas. She taught in inner city London for three years. On returning to New Zealand she completed a post-graduate clinical diploma in Child Psychotherapy at the Wellington School of Medicine. Jo then returned to Christchurch to take up the position of Child Psychotherapist for the Christchurch District Health Board in 1996, and has since worked in the public and private sectors.

Jo has represented her association at national level in an executive position and for the ACC Sensitive Claims Advisory Group. In addition to this she has provided training and workshops for many different organisations. In 2009, when the Psychotherapy Board of New Zealand was established, she became a registered psychotherapist.

Jo specialises in working with children and their families who have experienced trauma and loss. This includes experience working with teenagers who are suffering from anxiety and depression. She accepts referrals from GPs, schools, and private individuals and is funded to provide free counselling for children, adolescents and their parents affected by the Christchurch earthquakes.

Child and adolescent psychotherapy

Child Psychotherapy is a specialist way of working with young people to enable better understanding of and coping with emotional difficulties. A child psychotherapist works with children and their parents who may have difficulties with anxiety, depression, relationships, trauma or experiences of abuse. A safe and confidential environment for young people and their parents is essential to develop a better understanding of the impact of emotional difficulties on their daily lives and relationships. Young children are provided with toys and art resources to help communicate their inner world in a non-threatening, non-verbal way. Working alongside parents, a child psychotherapist is trained to help strengthen the parent-child relationship through facilitating better communication and understanding. Children and adolescents who benefit from this type of approach may be suffering from a variety of symptoms listed below.

Child and adolescent psychotherapy can help with:

• anxiety
• separation anxiety
• grief and loss
• low mood
• attachment difficulties
• sleep difficulties
• social and behavioral problems
• parenting
• adjustment difficulties
• school refusal
• trauma and abuse
• developmental delay
• childhood depression
• self harm and suicidal ideation
• regressive or aggressive behavior.

Child psychotherapists are legally required to be registered with the Psychotherapy Board of Aotearoa New Zealand. Under the governance of this organization they work within the board's Code of Ethics to provide a service that is approved by the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003. Jo is currently part of the Membership Committee for New Zealand Association of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapists

Links

New Zealand Association of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapists

Psychotherapists' Board of Aotearoa New Zealand