Abstract
Primary care pediatricians are often faced with children and families who need more than just a consultation. Pediatricians are also the first point of contact for many children and families in distress. Hence, the decision of whether to reassure and follow them up or refer them for an evaluation and management to a mental health professional is something all pediatricians find difficult to make. In order to serve their clients well, it is necessary that pediatricians are trained to identify and manage common child psychological/psychiatric problems. They may also be called upon to break bad news, motivate families to seek treatment and motivate children to accept offered treatment. Most training courses in Pediatrics do not offer skills training in counseling, making the transition to real life practice a difficult proposition. This paper focuses on what is counseling, what situations make it necessary for pediatricians to offer counseling, the methods that can be useful and some tips to improve communication, with an emphasis on unique issues in the Indian context. Some techniques that are simple, brief and can be used by pediatricians are discussed in this paper.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
LeBaron S, Zeltzer L. Pediatrics and psychology: a collaboration that works. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 1985;6:157–61.
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Committee on Health Care Access and Economics Task Force on Mental Health. Improving mental health services in primary care: reducing administrative and financial barriers to access and collaboration. Pediatrics. 2009;123:1248–51.
Korsch BM. What do patients and parents want to know? What do they need to know? Pediatrics. 1984;74:917–9.
Schuster MA, Duan N, Regalado M, Klein DJ. Anticipatory guidance: what information do parents receive? What information do they want? Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2000;154:1191–8.
Ang A. Why doctors should learn counselling and psychotherapeutic skills. Singap Med J. 1999;40:128–9.
American Academy of Paediatrics. The pediatrician’s role in family support programs. Committee on Early Childhood and Adoption, and Dependent Care. Pediatrics. 2001;107:195–7.
Nunes C, Ayala M. Communication techniques used by pediatricians during well- child program visits: a pilot study. Rev Pediatr Aten Primaria. 2007;9:411–25.
Olson L, Inkelas M, Halfon N, Schuster M, O’Connor K, Mistry R. Overview of the content of health supervision for young children: reports from parents and pediatricians. Pediatrics. 2004;113:1907–16.
Mehta PN. Communication skills - talking to parents. Indian Pediatr. 2008;45:300–4.
Galuska DA, Fulton JE, Powell KE, et al. Pediatrician counselling about preventive health topics: results from the Physicians’ Practices Survey, 1998–1999. Pediatrics. 2002;109:E83–8. http://www.paediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/109/5/e83.
Sarvark JF. Put pediatric patients and parents in the picture. Bulletin of American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. April 2004.
Rosenberg EE, Pless IB. Can effective parent education occur during emergency room visits? Fam Med. 1993;25:598–601.
Harrington NG, Norling GR, Witte FM, Taylor J, Andrews JE. The effects of communication skills training on pediatricians and parents’ communication during ‘sick child’ visits. Health Commun. 2007;21:105–14.
Seth T. Communication to pediatric cancer patients and their families: a cultural perspective. Indian J Palliat Care. 2010;16:26–9.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Guarantor
VR will act as guarantor for this paper.
Conflict of Interest
None.
Source of Funding
None.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Raman, V. Practical Counseling Skills for the Pediatrician in the Indian Context. Indian J Pediatr 83, 670–674 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-015-1976-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-015-1976-z