If you or your child are in immediate danger, or your child has hurt themselves or talked about it, get help now. Visit a nearby emergency service, hospital, or mental health clinic. Child helplines and crisis lines:
Crisis numbers in Australia
- Kids Helpline: Tel: 1800 55 1800. 24 hours. For ages five to 25.
- headspace (eheadspace), mental health support: Tel: 1800 650 890. For young people aged 12 to 25, and family or friends worried about them. Every day, 3pm to 10pm.
- Lifeline 13 11 14: Tel: 13 11 14 | Text: 0477 13 11 14. 24 hours.
- Suicide Call Back Service: Tel: 1300 659 467. 24 hours. For ages 15 and over.
- Carer Gateway: Tel: 1800 422 737 (then option 1 for your local service provider). Weekdays, 8am to 5pm.
- All crisis lines in Australia
This page lists Child Psychotherapists in Sydney. 3 in all.
How therapy with children works
Therapy with children follows how children communicate. That is more often through play than through explaining.
Parents bring children about worry, low mood, or behaviour at home or school. Other children come after a family change, or after something frightening.
It is not a school assessment, and it is not a report on parenting.
What psychotherapy works on, and how long it usually runs
Everyone on this page describes their work as psychotherapy. A psychotherapist works through talking with you about your thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
Psychotherapy usually runs longer than counselling and aims for clinical change. It works on patterns that repeat rather than on one current problem.
A psychotherapist trains in psychological treatment rather than in medicine. What that training covers, and which approach a practitioner uses, differ between practitioners. Ask which approach a psychotherapist trained in, and how long they usually work.
What this page filters on
These are the only filters: the specialism recorded as Child and the professional title psychotherapist.
The Sydney page answers more questions about therapy there.
Paying for therapy in Sydney
Do affordable options exist in Sydney?
Sydney Local Health District Community Mental Health Service. Phone 1800 011 511. NSW public hospital and community mental-health services are free. The service is open to the public. You reach it through the NSW Mental Health Line, which assesses you clinically and refers you on. Local catchment areas apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my child old enough for therapy?
Practitioners see very young children too, in a different form. Play is a natural way for children to communicate their thoughts, feelings, experiences and trauma. The practitioner picks the method to fit the child, not the other way round. Say your child's age at first contact and ask what a practitioner would do.
Will I be told what my child says?
Not all of it, and the arrangement is set before the work starts. Parents are treated as partners in the work rather than kept outside it1. What is shared and what is held differs with the child's age and with local law. Ask a practitioner to set out their arrangement at the first meeting.
What happens in a first session with a child?
Often a practitioner meets the parents first, or the parents and child together. Play, drawing and games are the way in rather than a break from the work. Ask how parents or carers will be involved in the work. Ask before you book.
Is this an assessment for school?
No. This filter lists practitioners who work with children therapeutically. Educational assessments, reports for schools and reports for courts are separate pieces of work, and not every practitioner does them. If a school has asked for a report, say so at first contact and ask whether a practitioner provides one.
Who registers therapists in Australia?
See the Australia page for the professions that do carry a register there.
Nearby places and related listings
- Child Psychologists in Sydney
- Addiction Psychotherapists in Sydney
- Anxiety Psychotherapists in Sydney
- Couples Psychotherapists in Sydney
- Depression Psychotherapists in Sydney
- Grief Psychotherapists in Sydney
- Family Therapists in Sydney
- Psychotherapists in Sydney
- Sydney: all therapists listed (126)
- Couples counselling in Sydney
References
[1] Landreth, Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship (2012), chapter 9. Parents as partners in play therapy.
Real choice. Authentic, independent, clinician-led care.
TherapyRoute is a clinician-led directory that champions independent practitioners who answer to you and their professional ethics. We don't take commissions, sell your data, or assign therapists by algorithm. You browse, compare, and choose.
Vincenzo (Enzo) Sinisi, Clinical Psychologist (HPCSA), Psychoanalyst (IPA/SAPA), Group Analyst (IGA)