Why does worry show up in a child’s stomach?
Adults can usually say they feel worried. Children frequently show it through behaviour, physical symptoms or emotional outbursts, the clinic’s post on anxious children says. Stomach aches or headaches without a clear medical cause appear on its list.
Dr Gaf draws on 13 years as a consultant. Families commonly begin with a paediatrician, and the check-up frequently finds nothing abnormal. In Dr Gaf’s Dubai practice, extensive physical examinations frequently return inconclusive results and only rarely reveal gastric inflammation or lactose or gluten intolerance. Blood tests, MRIs and endoscopies can also frighten children.
The post’s recommendation is specific: consider underlying anxiety and sadness before invasive procedures such as endoscopy. The paediatrician decides which tests a child needs.
What else should parents watch for?
The anxious-children post adds school avoidance, repeated requests for reassurance, irritability, withdrawal or tears, and trouble sleeping or concentrating. The clinic’s child psychology FAQs say to consider a psychologist when anxiety, low mood or behaviour changes persist or affect school or home life.
Another clinic post, by Lina Hajar, looks at children’s fear of mistakes. The author recalls stomach aches every morning while waiting for the school bus, after a summer-school teacher hit students with a ruler for errors. The post argues harsh reactions teach children to fear mistakes.
A practical step, suggested here rather than drawn from the clinic: jot down when the aches arrive. Mornings before school or before one particular subject give a clinician useful context.
What does a child psychologist do?
The clinic’s child psychology page describes a child and adolescent psychologist as a trained clinical psychologist who works with children from birth to 18. An initial consultation assesses your child’s difficulties and concerns. Psychologist and family then agree a shared understanding and clear treatment goals.
Younger children may use play or drawing, and teenagers talk. The anxious-children post lists CBT techniques, play therapy, parent-child sessions and psychoeducation. Sessions run weekly at first, then weekly or fortnightly. The psychologist may also collaborate with a psychiatrist or speech therapist and offer consultation to your child’s school.
How do you prepare your child for the first appointment?
The child psychology page asks parents to tell the child who they will see and why, calmly and in age-appropriate words. Reassure your child the psychologist is there to listen and will not get anyone into trouble, the page says, and mention sessions may use drawing, play or conversation. Choose a quiet moment when your child is calm.
Afterwards, praise the bravery it took, talk through what happened and help your child write down questions for next time.
Book a child psychology consultation
Read about child psychology at the clinic and the Young Valens location, then email info@thevalensclinic.ae to book. Take a note of when the aches arrive. Every Valens clinician holds a licence from the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) or the Community Development Authority (CDA).