By Fériel Berraies, married name Guigny, sophrologist specializing in child support and hypnotherapist.
A sophrology protocol exists to help young children (ages 2 to 6) channel their overexcitement — a constant restlessness stemming from difficulty managing their energy, not to be confused with hyperactivity, which is a medical diagnosis.
This Protocol Is Designed for Early Childhood (Ages 2 to 6)
Constantly discovering the world around them, children are often overstimulated by their many explorations as they grow and become aware of their surroundings. Overexcitement is a persistent restlessness that comes from a child's difficulty managing their energy. When they are little, they want to discover the world and all its mysteries, flitting from one thing to another.
It's important not to confuse overexcitement with hyperactivity, which is medically diagnosed and is a neurological condition more or less linked to disorders arising from a lack or deficit of empathy from the parent toward the child. In fact, whenever a parent comes to me about a “very active” child in my sophrology practice, I always recommend seeing a doctor or specialist to rule out any other possibility.
Sophrology is a complementary therapy, but it never replaces conventional medicine. In the specific case of overexcitement, a child in constant exploration is excited by their discoveries, which stimulate them physically and mentally — resulting in a certain difficulty managing their energy. The child then experiences intense nervous excitement that keeps them from calming down and resting when they need to: a hunger for stimuli that makes them unmanageable for those close to them and beyond.
The child then struggles to refocus and will misbehave, earning punishments and reprimands they won't always understand. Over the long term, this chronic state generates physical and nervous exhaustion (similar to burnout in adults) that can hinder their learning. The child will then start to develop a negative self-image, which weakens their self-esteem and pushes them toward a serious lack of self-confidence.
The protocol for overexcitement is designed to improve daily life, since this state affects the child's day-to-day well-being. The support offered to the parent who brings in their child aims to help the child stay calm with ease, teaching them to soothe themselves and maintain a state of tranquility.
What Parents — and Sometimes the Children Themselves — Ask For
- No longer being punished (with consequences for the child's life)
- Managing to calm down (since they can't on their own)
- No longer being exhausted (the child can't rest, being in a constant state of alertness, physically and nervously overstimulated)
The aim of the support is to help the child stay calm with ease. To do this, we first address the most urgent need — releasing physical, mental and emotional tension — then work on restoring calm and peace, teaching the child, through exercises, to refocus and listen to themselves.
We then draw on the child's own resources and playful world to help them move toward full mastery of their abilities, which we then reinforce. Session after session, the child revises the way they see themselves. This child, too often punished for lack of understanding of their overexcitement, regains confidence and self-esteem, and begins to picture a life where they will no longer exhaust themselves — or those around them — having gained a new capacity for restraint, calm and, above all, pride.
Overexcitement is not hyperactivity: it is a restlessness born from a child's difficulty managing their energy, which sophrology can help channel — never as a substitute for medical advice.
Quick Bio
Fériel Berraies is an RNCP-certified sophrologist, trained at IFS Paris, specializing in childhood, elderly care, cancer, sexuality, perinatal care and corporate wellness. She is also a practitioner of Ericksonian hypnosis, trained and certified by Xtréma Paris, and is currently training in naturopathy and facial and plantar reflexology. She is also a social sciences researcher and activist journalist.
To reach her: fbsophro@gmail.com — www.feriel-berraies-therapeute.com. Find her therapist profile in France here.
Practical Precautions
During the first session, the parent accompanies their child, but afterward lets them attend the sessions alone.
