We take the mental, emotional, and behavioral health of your child or teen seriously.  Statistics paint a concerning picture telling us 1 in 5 children will experience and mental or emotional or behavioral health issue before age 18.  Functioning effectively in these areas is vital to our children’s future success in all areas of their lives.

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Nearly 80% of adult mental health disorders start in childhood and teen years. According to the NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) “many adults who have mental disorders, symptoms were present—but often not recognized or addressed—in childhood and adolescence. For a young person with symptoms of a mental disorder, the earlier treatment is started, the more effective it can be. Early treatment can help prevent more severe, lasting problems as a child grows up.” This is why it is vital to address mental health issues early on.  Moreover, we all would like our children or teens to have a sense of well-being and happiness as they go through life.    

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Whether your child experiences common mental health disorders such as ADHD, Depression, Anxiety, Eating Disorders, or other emotional or behavioral concerns, our therapists, psychologists and certified professionals specialize in Psychological Testing and Evaluations to better identify and understand the sources of some of these problems.

We make recommendations where appropriate, so you can know how best to proceed in addressing your child’s or teen’s challenges. We also provide systemic, evidenced-based therapies that are effective in treating these issues and many more.   

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Disruptive and other acting out behaviors with children can be a source of significant distress to not only parents but others in their lives. Some of these behaviors are transitional, related to age /stage development, organic or physiological problems, adjustment situations or social factors.  Still, others are related to clinical diagnoses such as, but not limited to Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and DMDD (Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder).

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Do you experience constant push back child or excessive rebellion from your child or pre-teen?  Perhaps you find that you are in repeated power struggles when you try to establish limits with your child or adolescent.  Does your child show a repeated lack of respect to you or authority figures or make poor or impulsive decisions without considering the consequences? Is your child or teen more often than not irritable, agitated, highly frustrated, or has unexplained temper outbursts?    

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Are you concerned with your child's or teen's overuse of social media or technology?  Does your child often compare themselves to others or have a poor self-image? Maybe your child or adolescent is challenged with peer and interpersonal relationships. Has your child experienced a significant event that has resulted in trauma or significant negative emotions?

We believe in a comprehensive approach to providing therapeutic care for your children.  Therefore, we have experienced therapists to help you as a parent or caregiver with strategies to effectively support your child, improve communication, and enhance the connection between yourself and your child or teenager.  Below are a few of the common challenging parenting topics we help parents to better navigate and overcome. 

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Technology:

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Parents are increasingly faced with more difficult challenges than previously in raising children and teenagers. One significant area is the recent development of parents noticing that they are direct competition for their child’s or teenager’s belief systems, versus, those of the culture, their peers, or other influencers (such as social media influencers).

Although this is typical for the teenage years, this dynamic is reaching down to noticeably younger ages causing serious conflict and worry. Many parents are shocked to discover the current influences that have significantly impacted their children's beliefs and how these beliefs affect the mental, emotional, and behavioral health of their child or teen.  So what can parents do?

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Keeping an open dialog with your child from a young age through the more challenging teenage years is vital to not only building a meaningful relationship but influencing your children values and decision making in the later years.  Our therapists are trained to help you understand how to navigate not only changes in your communication style is needed as your child becomes a teenager, but how your role changes, as your child gets older.

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Discipline:

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Another challenging area for parents is that of providing effective discipline. Are you frustrated with finding a balance in your approach to discipline; for example, are you permissive in some areas and authoritarian in others?  Does the differences between how you view parenting vs. that of your partner or spouse cause conflict or confusion with your child or teenager?

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Do you find the style of parenting you learned from your upbringing no longer works well for your family and the challenges you face?  Are you clear on effective what discipline techniques produce long-lasting results vs. discipline that provides only temporary results and harms your relationship with your child or teenager?  

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Parenting Styles:

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It’s important to understand your purpose for parenting and allow that to inform your discipline style.  This means thinking intentionally and contentiously about how you would like to raise your child.  Often parents start to have these conversations after a problem occurs.

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One question to consider is "What do you feel is essential to impart to your child for the appropriate stages of their lives?" For example, what values are important to you as a parent or caregiver?  Is it independence, cooperation, family harmony, honesty, kindness, education, or empathy for others? A nationally recognized parent psychologist Dr. Michael Popkin states, "For any job that is important, you need to understand your purpose in that job, and it needs training and support [sic to succeed]." This is the same with parenting.   

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Whether it is through our parenting training classes or in-private parenting sessions, we are here to support you in clarifying your purpose and impart your values.  Our qualified therapists are also able to teach you effective discipline and relationship building skills that will help you enhance your closeness with your child or teenager.