My Child is Out of Control and it's Scary
Children manifest stress, depression and anxiety much differently than adults. Children will often revert back to a more primitive emotion of anger, hostility or fear. Left untreated, the child develops long lasting habitual bad behaviors. Eventually, the child may withdraw, lose interest in activities, have difficulty concentrating, decline in school and have difficulty keeping friends.
It's very important to identify these behaviors as soon as possible and intervene quickly. Waiting for the child to "grow out of it" only prolongs the maladaptive behaviors and cements them as long lasting habits instead of temporary symptoms.
It can be scary and frustrating when your young child's behavior begins to rule your life. It's important to remember that their behavior is a symptom of true emotional pain that they do not know how to express.
With extreme behaviors, hospitalization is sometimes considered by parents. However, this comes at a cost to the child - hospitalizing a child reinforces the notion that the child is "broken" and puts the "blame" for the child's problems entirely on their shoulders. Sometimes hospitalization is inevitable, but our Children's program can work with even some of the most acute cases. It's a good idea to have an assessment before making a decision about hospitalization as it is likely we can help and relieve the child and parents in our Intensive Outpatient Program.
In actuality, every member of the family is part of an interconnected system. Although it is the child who may be showing symptoms, it's critical to work with the family as a whole.
This is why our intensive program requires that a parent or caregiver attend the sessions with the child. We usually separate the parents and children for the first half of the session and address issues and therapeutic activities separately. Then, the last half of the session, the parents and children are integrated into the same group to work together and put some of the new tactics into practice.
Included in the Intensive Outpatient Program is a lifetime worth of free after-care services in which parents or loved ones can attend an after-care group for one hour per week. This ensures that you have ongoing support and assistance as your child continues to grow and develop.
This program is a excellent alternative to other more severe services such as hospitalization or long term residential care.