It is normal for children to feel sad, nervous, or afraid sometimes, and all children misbehave or talk back to their parents once in a while. This is developmentally appropriate, and usually is not anything to worry about.
However, children who have mental health problems often experience a lot of emotional distress, family conflict, school failure, violence, problems with friends, and may even have thoughts of suicide.
If your child’s mood and/or behaviors seem to be causing any of these problems, it is a good idea to consult a child psychologist, or psychiatrist who works with children and adolescents.
In addition, some children who have great difficulty learning in school or keeping up with schoolwork may actually have a neurological disorder (such as ADHD or Sensory Integration Disorder) or a learning disability (such as dyslexia) that is preventing them from achieving academic success, in spite of the fact that they have normal or above average intelligence. In this case, it may be necessary to undergo psychoeducational testing in order to figure out what is keeping the child from learning effectively in school.

The type of service that is appropriate for your child depends upon his/her individual needs, and is determined on a case-by-case basis. However, we understand that psychological treatment can often be a big expense for many families.
For this reason, during the first appointment, our clinicians meet only with the parent(s). This allows the clinician to speak openly with the parent(s) about the reason for the consultation without the child present, and it also gives the clinician and parents an opportunity to discuss the various service options and come up with an affordable plan that would best serve the child.