Psychological teleconsultation, children and confinement

March 23, 2020

The situation of forced quarantine forces Nathalie Dumontier, child psychologist, to use teleconsultation to follow her young patients. This strange camera disrupts the rituals of everyday life which usually help to structure the psyche. Nathalie Dumontier wishes to warn of the risks that children and adolescents run during long confinement. Teleconsultations are the solution to strengthen the monitoring of the most vulnerable. “As a practitioner trained in the major importance of the meeting, I have adapted my mode of operation”. Here is his testimony.

Child and adolescent therapist

Nathalie Dumontier is a psychopractor specializing in children and adolescents. She has been practicing for 12 years in La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime). Trained in psychopathology, she treats in particular sleep, language and eating disorders, which testify to a deeper discomfort. It is through the drawings of her patients that she deciphers the unconscious messages that children and adolescents have trouble verbalizing.

“The drawing opens up a space for the child to speak. Through his drawings, the child tells what he experiences and his way of perceiving the world. He projects his internal conflicts and his fears into it. In the current situation, it is first-rate to interact with the children and help them understand how they are feeling. ”

What is important and urgent to deal with during confinement?

Containment changes the benchmarks of each of us. Families get together, parents have many roles to play and the children are a bit lost. Total quarantine therefore changes benchmarks and creates new ones, since everyday life must be organized in an enclosed space with new rules.

Give children a voice

It is essential to give children a voice very quickly and to listen to the messages they convey.“I organized my consultations remotely and I always draw the children. Thanks to digital we can guarantee the confidentiality of exchanges. Everyone plays the game, children and parents alike.”

In extreme situations, the imagination of children gallops and confusion quickly sets in.The gap between reality, what they understand, and what they see or hear in the media can lead to a cascade of symptoms that must be identified quickly.It is urgent to pay attention to the mental health of children and juniors without waiting! The psychological impact of quarantine is vast and can last a long time.

Support adolescents and young adults

Confinement weakens juniors who are often less stable in their emotional life than older age groups. Some people feel more helpless and anxious and sometimes in unfavorable material situations.

The situation is difficult for young people confined in a cramped studio, far from their family or for young employees in material discomfort.

How to manage this forced isolation?

Confinement shatters our daily routines. Children need benchmarks to structure themselves, especially when the siblings are going through an eventful period.

The role of parents will be to organize habits to give meaning to days and weeks in order to place them in a framework.

Now is the time to set goals that are realistic and motivating. It is important to include children and adolescents in the co-construction of these new rules. Everyone must have a space to speak to express their needs, their frustrations, but also their personal challenges.

Psychological teleconsultation: maintaining the visual link allows close monitoring

Requests for help by teleconsultation will increase. For already fragile patients, confinement and stress are aggravating factors. Anxiety and panic attacks can develop. The overall level of anxiety may increase. The most vulnerable people, who already suffer from mental or psychological disorders will be more affected, but new cases may also appear. In young people, they can reinforce eating disorders, addictions, suicidal tendencies.

It is therefore important that psychologists and therapists maintain contact with their patients, and make themselves available to support new cases. Patients should not feel abandoned and isolated at health home alone. The link must be maintained despite everyone's confinement.

In children in particular, psychological teleconsultation makes it possible to maintain the “physical” link, to spot facial expressions, to interact immediately, to encourage, and to share information live.

Why did you choose Hellocare?

The online calendar solution that Nathalie used is integrated into the Hellocare teleconsultation solution. It is therefore natural that she turned to this accessible and simple platform.

Teleconsultation provides a health and social response in this particular pandemic situation. Beyond the clinical relationship, it allows us to maintain links with the most fragile among us.

Nathalie Dumontier, child psychologist, practices teleconsultations via the platform Hellocare.