Should I force a child into counseling?

Hmmm, well my mother forced me into counseling and I’ll just be honest, I was really pissed at first and I had a bad attitude towards the counselor, but now that’s it’s been a few weeks, it definitely seems to be helping. You can’t actually drag your child to a counselor, but as long as he/she will listen to you (even if they don’t want to) you can and I would definitely recommend. At first, your child will probably hold a grudge towards you at first, but they’ll thank you some day. I don’t know what sort of issues your child is dealing with, but generally, if problems aren’t faced early,they get progressively worse. I should know, I’ve had issues for over 3 years and they’ve gotten worse and worse, I wish I’d have gone for help earlier. What I’m trying to say is yes, you can and probably should. But if the child refuses, it may be time to get him/her out of the house.

Its easy to say we can force a child, but they are human beings too. I think having someone to open up to is probably the best thing you can do if they hate the formal settings.

If they won’t open up or become anti-social and reject all mentors then that is the time to insist counseling – especially if they are still a minor and you’re responsible for them

Dear britt488, There comes a time when parents must behave like parents. That means they take control. Parents are responsible for their children’s well being. Counselling is never easy for anyone to go to but usually once there they are glad to have someone hear their problems without judgment. All new things are scary especially for a child but usually after one session the fear is gone and they will except the parents decision to make them go and usually in the end they are very glad they went. Sue…good luck

It can be difficult to deal with a child who doesn’t want councilling. If you really think that the child has issues that need to be resolved, it would help to convince them to at least meet the councillor, and see if they’re comfortable with the person. If they are, then they’ll be a little more receptive to the idea of going; if they aren’t, I would suggest trying a different person. If the child doesn’t feel comfortable, they won’t talk, or, worse, they’ll just lie their way through. I know from personal experience how annoying it is to be forced into going to therapy sessions when you neither trust or want to be near the councillor. It’s completely ineffective unless the kid trusts the person. Good luck.

if ur child is reluctant to do formal counciling then try to find someone who can be a mentor. i mentor for my cousin and she is 15 and tells me everything and i give her advice but it is not like she has to come to my office and sit and be shrinked for a lot of kids this can be very intimidating but it all depends on ur childs problems and only you are the best judge of that but i would say if u can’t find a mentor that they will open up to then yes maybe with any luck you can find one your child will open up to

well it all really depends on how bad the child needs counseling. my best bet would be to have him or her try it out and see how things go. if it doesn’t work arange a time where you and your child can talk about the things that might be bumming your child out.

Is it actually legal for a school to force a child to go to counseling if they suspect a child is doing something bad like having sex at age 12?