Hydrotherapy for children

Hydrotherapy is a general name for a method of treating children with various conditions: anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, body image problems. The treatment is conducted in warm water, at a temperature of 34 degrees, includs active physical activity, and can also include passive activity (Floating).

When working with children who suffer from anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, the use of the pool is a tool that allows for the conceptualization of anxieties in a concrete way: the sides of the pool as boundaries, breaking contact with the floor as separation and individuation, and floating on the surface of the water as trust issues - trusting that the water will support and hold the child being treated and the caregiver who is holding them.

The work is done in a playful and enjoyable manner, normalizing anxieties and offering active ways to cope with them.

The child adopts the ways of coping with anxiety back with her to her daily encounters on land. The work in the water is also done by learning to swim at a pace and in a way that is adapted to the patient, allowing her to experience successes and improve her self-confidence, and to take pride for achievements. When the anxiety stems from post-traumatic stress, the trauma can be touched and processed moderately and gently, using the large and regulating container that the pool provides, and trauma treatment methods that come from psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Working with children on the autism spectrum is very different from patient to patient. A vast majority of children on the spectrum have a problem with sensory regulation, and the pool allows for partial neutralization of the problem. The water is at a comfortable temperature for the body, the sounds are more muted, and the work is done one-on-one with the therapist. In essence, working in the pool allows you to put aside a large part of the sensory difficulties and address what the child needs to work on: communication problems, learning, making eye contact, strengthening self-confidence, physical strengthening.

Each child and the goals with which they had come to the water to improve.

Working with children with cerebral palsy involves a combination of active and passive work. The goal of active work is to strengthen the muscles in the affected limbs, and to utilize the buoyancy that helps produce movement that may be too difficult on land. The goal of passive work (floating) is to improve range of motion, and release muscles that remain contracted over time in children with cerebral palsy.