CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

SRI has a great deal of experience and expertise to offer to children, adolescents and their families.  

 

Many children need support and strategies to help them to cope with an unexpected or painful life event. “Normal” children, even at young ages, may require some therapy for a behavioral or emotional challenge.  Typically, this will involve working closely with parents to implement a behavior plan.  Common problems include worries and fears, aggressive behavior and noncompliance (not listening to parents’ requests).  

 

Early identification is a key goal in the treatment of young children.  Therapy can frequently be very helpful when a child is seen as soon as a significant problem emerges.  While it is true that children sometimes “grow out” of certain problems, this is not true for many developmental, behavioral and emotional patterns that can be helped more quickly if given prompt attention.

 

Prevention of more serious problems as children get older is always our goal.  Many emotional, social and school-related problems, when addressed early, can prevent worse issues later on.  For example, research supports the benefits of cognitive therapy for anxious or depressed children in preventing more serious episodes later.

 

Adolescents are in a complicated period of life and benefit from a relationship with a trusted source of support outside of the family.  Of course, parents also need support when dealing with the many very challenging behaviors, symptoms and issues of adolescence.

 

Family therapy is an important form of treatment.  Our goals include helping families to manage conflict more effectively and to muster the resources of family members to address the specific problems of concern.  

 

Psycho-Educational Testing and school consultation services are also very valuable to support the progress of children and adolescents.  There is a detailed description of the testing process on our site.  Getting information from teachers and also providing recommendations to school personnel is frequently a key aspect of a child’s therapy.