Count to Three and it’s too Late

Received and well established wisdom in the fields of emotional and mental well-being tells us about the importance of a loving and trustworthy (not to say consistent) early relational environment. 50% of the brains development is shaped by the age of 12 months and 90% by the time we are three.  Life simply does not work well where parental love (or another consistent adult relationship having the same hallmarks) has not been available to reassure the child that life is reliable and that they can trust in a securely valuing response to their fear of threat.

And now look at these recently published statistics:

• 3 children in every classroom have a diagnosable mental health problem
• Half of those with lifetime mental health issues first experience symptoms by the age of 14
• Depression and anxiety amongst teenagers have increased by 75% in the past 25 years
• Children are less likely to suffer from serious mental health difficulties later in life if they receive support at an early age
• 84% of parents felt their child’s problems were better after receiving counselling

Neuroscience provides the evidence for the catastrophic impact of unreliable relational experience and also the power of the brains neuro-plasticity to recover in the right environment.

Whether in later childhood or as an adult suffering from the legacy of early emotional abuse counselling provides that long term environment from which sufferers can take comfort that it works and discover their own lives for themselves, in themselves.

For more information visit my website: https://www.cheltenhamcounsellor.co.uk.