Child Life

Child Life: The Conceptual Origins of Practice**

There are many physical, cognitive and emotional stressors that can accompany a hospital stay. It becomes critical to recognize that children and youth are subcategories of ‘healthcare patients’ in general. As a category, because children process information much differently than adults do, they have distinct needs for managing the effects of stress and trauma associated with a healthcare experience and importantly, if these needs are not understood and accounted for in healthcare support services, children may experience emotions such as fear, shame and confusion, which can have lasting effects on their psychosocial development. In effect, this understanding provides the basis for services offered by Child Life programs, which both recognize that hospitalization can be a traumatic disruption to specifically a child's development and which are also committed to efforts in providing effective psychosocial support as a means to support (1) anxiety and stress reduction, (2) developmentally appropriate medical preparation to facilitate age-appropriate understanding, (3) pain management and effective coping strategies, and (4) normal development, including play and self-expression activities.




Child Life: The Field Today*

Child life as a field as evolved to become a very specialized branch of pediatric mental health that was designed to help children and their families navigate emotionally demanding process of coping with stressors inherent to a variety of life challenges (i.e., illness, the disease trajectory, grief, bereavement, disability, trauma, familial discord, behavioural issues, social development, transitional adjustments ect.). Child life specialist utilize evidence-based knowledge to find new and alternative ways of helping children cope in ways that are appropriate to their developmental level.

Child life specialist work with children and families in many settings. They are most often found in clinical settings in pediatric inpatient/outpatient units, surgical areas, pediatric intensive care units, emergency departments, and the neonatal insensitive care units. Although child life specialist typically function in a hospital setting, their skills and training are often applied to support children and families in other settings such as hospice, palliative care, dental care, education programming in schools, specialized camps for children facing medical/special needs, grief or bereavement support services, clinical treatment settings for special needs children, therapeutic practices or whenever children and families come to be supported through stress or trauma. In each setting, intervention focuses on the specific mental, emotional, physical needs of the child and family.



Child Life Specialist: A Definition*


Picture 1: Medical Preparation and Education.

Child life specialists are pediatric health care professionals with expertise in child development, family systems and play therapy, who work with children and families to help reduce the stress and anxiety that can be associated with a healthcare experience or any experience in which children are facing challenges that may overwhelm their ability to cope. Child life specialist work to meet the developmental, psychological, educational, and emotional needs of children and families through a variety of services based on the Child Life Council’s Professional Standards of Clinical Practice. These services include (1) diagnosis education, (2) psychological preparation for medical procedures and experiences, (2) in-procedure support or diversional activities (4) therapeutic activities, (5) support for families including siblings and, (6) advocacy. Understanding that a child’s well-being depends on the support of the family, they also provide information, support and guidance to parents, siblings, and other family members. They also play a vital role in educating caregivers, administrators, and the general public about the needs of children under stress.




[PLEASE NOTE]:

References:
* The Child Life Council @ www.childlife.org
**Copyright © 2013 childsplayccls. (You may NOT copy material verbatim for any purpose, as some of the wording comes from my original work.) Please read and reference the original source.

Image source:
Picture 1