Maria Naranjo interview, childhood and adolescence specialist psychologist

Today in psychoactive we have the pleasure of talking with a recognized expert psychologist in working with children and adolescents as well as in families intervention. We talk about María Naranjo.

First Maria thank you very much for your attention for this interview, we know that you are very busy. Since when do you dedicate yourself to psychology and because you decided to dedicate yourself to this profession? 

Hello David, first of all thanks for the opportunity to have this interview and for your availability, I am delighted to be part of this space. 

My adventures began in 2018, when I finished all the mandatory training and the specialization I wanted to do. It was a slow start, but very rewarding. Of the different areas of psychology in which I have moved I always take something, there is always something new to learn and with what to continue growing. In fact, psychology has this part, that is, being in constant learning to be able to help in the best possible way. 

The truth is that the decision to study psychology was driven by my interest from a child to help others, especially people around my environment. However, that interest was getting bigger and more when I knew that I could dedicate me professionally.

Not having been a psychologist. What do you think you would have dedicated?

I have always loved to communicate, teach, etc. As a child I wrote a lot, now I do not do it and I remember that I enjoyed doing it very much doing it. I would have dedicated myself to the scope of communication and writing. In fact, I had a very marked time in which I wanted to be a journalist. Psychology is not that, but it does have things in common, as the opportunity to investigate about a specific topic for subsequent exposure and scientific contrast. You can also write articles collecting new findings from other studies, you can give training and reach other people. I am delighted with my choice, it is very rewarding and enriching. 

Where can we find your consultation and what modalities?

I currently collaborate with different entities, in addition to being on social networks behind the Instagram account @marianaranjo.psycho through post and content related to psychology and mental health. 

I work as a psychologist in the DR Consultation. Carlos Chiclana attending patients, conducting formations and dissemination and research activities. We are a very wide team of professionals who work in a coordinated manner. 

https: // www.Doctorcarloschiclana.com/

In addition, I am in the center of Integral Psides Psychology with a team of psychologists where we attend different pathologies according to our field of intervention. 

http: // www.psides.org/

Finally, I am in Sanimed that it is a medical center where there is a team of psychologists and different medical specialties. 

https: //animed centers.is/

Do you offer any type of training? And if not, what would you like to give it?

I really like to give training. I have given several workshops in a past and I am currently preparing a workshop for teenagers with crucial issues such as identity, emotional management, social relations and social networks. 

I love the theme of attachment and the early mother-baby bond, perhaps it would be the most interesting themes to carry out some training and that would be a great challenge for me. It is so crucial for me this issue, that it seems essential to be able to address it in different workshops or talks although the theme is not exclusively this. 

Well, if we talk about training, we can talk about education and therefore deepen a field as complex as children, adolescents and intervention with families in which you are an expert. First of all, why expert in that sector and not another of psychology?

Well, from my beginnings I began working with children and adolescents because it was an area that I had always liked and with which I especially connected well, first as a monitor in schools and later as a psychologist in different entities. With the passage of time, the result of my trajectory in this area decided to specialize in the intervention with the childth population and expand knowledge. 

It is a very wide field really and we could ask many questions, but we will only do some to not extend the interview too much.

What is it like working with children and what are the most common problems in consultation?

Children's work implies a series of changes in therapeutic intervention, that is, we must understand that the maturation level of a child is not the same as that of an adult and therefore we must adapt to their level of development. For this, different strategies such as game, drawings, videos and any creative tool are used to help us connect with the situation of the child and favor the resolution of the problem in question. The consultation is a place of self -knowledge, a safe place in which the child is expressed through the game. In addition, learn tools (adjusted to your level of development) with the aim of achieving greater well -being. It is essential that work with minors is accompanied by a job with their reference figures (mothers, fathers, main caregivers) so that the improvement is adequate and can be maintained over time. 

I think talking about the most common problems in consultation depends on the scope and the population with which they are working. By dedicating myself to clinical psychology, personally what I see the most are difficulties in social relationships, difficulties in emotional management, problems in adaptation to the new evolutionary stage such as adolescence, symptomatology related to anxiety or depression. 

What role do fathers, mothers and teachers play on this subject?

As I said before, the work with the reference figures is fundamental in the intervention with children and adolescents. The family is the first system where we develop and where we acquire many of our learning. Involving fathers and mothers in the process favors the achievement of therapeutic objectives. They work with them to help them understand the problem, understand how different factors influence the situation, as well as to self -knowledge as parents and members of their family system with their own history and learning. I always like to explain it as if it were a gear system. Each gear has a certain movement that determines the meaning of the next and so on. If one of those gears did not work or did not move in the way it would correspond, it would hinder the overall operation of the apparatus that uses that gear system. The family works in a similar way, that is, the change in one of the members implies movements in others for good family functioning. 

Work with school is also very important, since it is another of the areas where children and adolescents move regularly. Working in a coordinated manner with teachers, tutors, professionals related to the educational field helps us better understand the development of the infant and to implement guidelines that favor their improvement. In addition, the work they do is very important because it influences the development of the child. That is why it is relevant that teachers also work through talks and training that favor a greater understanding of students. 

In the same way it occurs with other professionals who are closely related to the child, for example doctors, psychiatrists, spiritual directors, etc. That is, carrying out a multidisciplinary intervention is essential for significant improvement. 

It is essential to involve parents, applying strategies and tools, as well as in their child's own process because they are the referents and the first learning core in which they move. The same with school. 

Do you think that pandemic has favored some psychological problem in children and adolescents? We comment this because it seems that it has been the most affected sector.

I think that pandemic has affected us all, since it has been something totally unpredictable. In children and adolescents he has also had his influence. Personally I have observed greater problems in social relations, that is, greater difficulty in interacting with the equal group possibly aggravated by the confinement period. It cannot be affirmed that the confinement is the cause of this problem, but an aspect that has been able to sharpen it. In addition, I have observed greater symptomatology related to anxiety and depression, as well as enquistados duels related to the deaths of the covid- 19. Therefore, work in expression and emotional management is fundamental. 

In addition, another issue that has been triggered considerably is self -collaborative ideation, that is, suicide and self -harm. It is a real problem, since suicide is one of the first causes of death in young people and is not receiving the importance it deserves. We must give priority to this issue to give visibility and implement prevention programs, as well as necessary aid to address it effectively.  

Finally, I have observed greater presence of regressive behaviors, that is, expected behaviors in certain vital stages but that they disappear with the development of the child, which makes them not expected that they appear in later stages. For example, wet the bed at night (enuresis), suck your finger, fear of darkness, etc. 

The same questions about children now transferred to adolescents Maria. When there is a psychological problem in both children and adolescents, who is guilty of it? The school, the parents, the system in general, the education system? 

I think that looking for a culprit as the cause of psychological problems in minors is something simplistic. I consider that it is a set of factors that influence the development of problems, that is, today's mental health is still something very stigmatized by society. It is true that a lot of visibility and normalization have been achieved in recent months, perhaps a little due to everything that happened. However, it is necessary to continue working on it so that it is of the importance that it deserves and that it is not conceived as something extraordinary and of the last stay, that is, it is normally seen to be able to go to the psychologist in the same way that it is said that someone has a dentist for a teeth pain. The stigmatization of mental health makes problems acute. 

On the other hand, emotional education in minors is very relevant. I think it is necessary to enhance this much more through workshops, formations, etc., both in the academic environment and outside. That is, they can have an education from home and away from home to favor self -knowledge, prevent problems, develop emotional intelligence, personal identity, sexuality, etc. 

In addition, as I have mentioned above, working together with the parents of minors is essential for a good functioning. Parents also have to know, understand and understand certain aspects of behavior and the child's stage with the intention that there may be a good functioning in the family. 

Therefore, we cannot determine a single cause for the appearance of problems, but a set of factors that increase probability. 

Do you think values ​​are being lost that other generations had?

I cannot strongly affirm that the values ​​of past generations are being lost, I think that some aspects have evolved and continue to do so with respect to how they were initially, for example the modes of relationship, the way of communicating, family functioning, etc. 

Some of these aspects imply a greater generational gap between parents and children, such as the use of new technologies. However, this does not have to assume a problem as long as there is room for the understanding, dialogue and adaptation of both parties. 

Is it harder to understand a child to a father or vice versa?

Well, it depends on who you ask, right? If the child or father. I think there is no more difficult than another, but, due to differences of age, of the level of maturity, of the position within the family, the conceptions, learning, values, experiences, interests, etc., tensions may arise that promote distancing between both parties, especially in adolescence. We must know how to interpret and know the needs, interests and behaviors of children and adolescents in order to minimize confrontations and achieve greater connection with them. Although adolescence can be a particularly complicated moment, parents remain the referents, caregivers, protectors and support figures for minors. Therefore, adapting the rules to the stage in which they meet, be interested in them, dedicate time and take care of communication, among other things, it is fundamental. 

Well, if we talk about parents, we talk about mothers, that is, what families are a family intervention and in what cases this intervention is usually necessary?

A family intervention can be very beneficial on multiple occasions, since it implies all the members of the system and helps the mobilization of each one towards the resolution of the problem. It is important to take into account the family whenever they work with a minor, but it is also especially relevant when there are problems in communication between members (parents-children), when there are dysfunctional dynamics within the family or when there is a blockade In the interpretation of needs. In addition, it is also fundamental in times of crisis in regulatory situations (adolescence, breeding of children, etc.), as non -regulations (separation of parents, residence change, etc.). 

All this is done with the intention that the family best suits the stage in which they are and launched effective tools and resources for the time they are. However, each case and situation is different, so each professional must structure the intervention in the best way you consider. 

Well, thank you very much Maria, it has been a real pleasure to tell you to learn much more about psychology and especially about human relationships.