Diploma in Child Psychology

Course description

It is crucial to understand the many behaviours that children exhibit in order to guide and nurture them as they develop. Child psychology studies the developmental stages that occur in childhood and traces the links between them. This child psychology course lays out the field’s history, concepts and theories to help you understand what goes on in young minds and provide mental health support to your clients or the children in your care.

Are you concerned about your child's changing behaviour? It is important that parents and caregivers understand children’s development to help them improve. Child psychology studies the developmental stages of childhood, children’s relationships with others and the role of affection. This course helps you to understand how children learn, think, feel and interact with others. We begin by introducing you to the field of child psychology and explain its important role in understanding and driving childhood development. We illustrate how mental health problems affect young people and highlight the correlating educational challenges they raise in the classroom. We then break down the concept of ‘attachment’ and examine the different theories that explain it. We discuss the effects of bereavement and divorce on children of different ages before studying various attachment disorders and their treatments.

The course traces the stages of child development that almost all children go through and demonstrates how to best support them through each stage. We outline factors that can cause problematic development in children and discuss in detail different parenting styles to help you understand how best to raise your children. We study various personality traits, psychosocial stages and development concepts to explain childhood problems and challenges and how to deal with them. The course then introduces you to the concept of child neglect, laying out its signs, risk factors and impact on children's physical and mental health to help you prevent it. We also show you how to identify and respond to internet addiction among children.

The course then discusses issues faced during adolescence and their appropriate therapies. We teach you how to identify common teenage mental health problems like anxiety disorders, eating disorders, mood disorders, autism spectrum disorder and more. We also explore substance abuse and lay out its effects on physical and psychological development. Finally, we examine the psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological approaches to improving childhood mental health. This course is important for professional psychologists, parents, teachers, caregivers or anyone interested in learning about child psychology. Sign up to learn the principles of child psychology and how to apply them in your work with children.