Understanding your child’s development is important and can change the way that you handle their behaviors. Children who are neurodiverse are often misunderstood and experience shame and social isolation around their different ways of perceiving the world. At Thriving Child Center, we approach neurodiversity from an affirming place: it’s okay to be yourself and get support and tools to handle the stress of living in a world full of neurotypical expectations. Experienced clinicians at Thriving Child Center can assess your child for the presence of Autism using Gold Standard assessment measures and help you decide upon next steps for your child’s treatment and support tailored to meet your child’s individual needs. Formal diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder by psychological evaluation is often required by insurance companies and schools to receive accommodations in school.

After your child has been diagnosed, we will help you and your child understand and accept their neurodiveristy, advocate for accommodations, and regulate their own emotions more easily. As the parent, you can learn skills for approaching difficult topics with your child, focusing on your child's unique strengths, and increasing self-acceptances that improve adjustment and flexibility in the long-run.

Young children can sometimes act out in ways that get them in trouble at home and at school. Common problem behaviors include hitting, refusing to obey or "listen," throwing tantrums, breaking rules, and hurting others. Often, if a child is struggling with appropriate behavior, parents are at a loss of how to help their child. Sometimes behavior problems can get so bad that parents worry that nothing can help!

PCIT is a treatment designed to help young children with behavior problems and is also evidence-based for children exposed to traumatic events.  PCIT provides a treatment designed for and proven to work specifically for those children and families.

During PCIT, we will help you learn specialized skills to improve your relationship with your child, implement discipline strategies that really work, and apply those skills in your home and in public. Parents who have tried “parenting classes” before are amazed at the difference they see with PCIT because we are able to tailor the program to fit your family's individual needs and personalities. All of our PCIT therapists have completed extensive training and are officially certified by PCIT International. During treatment we will track your child’s behavior at every session to make sure that your child is improving. If you commit to the program, you will be amazed at how quickly your child's behavior will change.

PCIT is also showing promise as a treatment for improving behaviors and attachment for children on the Autism Spectrum. Dr. Clionsky has published her own research implementing PCIT with children diagnosed with autism and is recognized as an expert in  tailoring PCIT for this unique population. We will be able to tell if PCIT would be the best approach for your child and family.

Children and teens who struggle who defiant and aggressive behaviors have difficulty in their relationships with their families and friends. Sometimes academics are affected as well. Parenting a strong-willed child or teen can feel very overwhelming and isolating. If your child/teen also demonstrates physically aggressive behavior, the situation can become very serious. Clinicians at Thriving Child Center specialize in helping parents and children adjust their behaviors so that everyone in the family feels more comfortable. Depending on your family’s situation, we may teach you specific parenting strategies designed for strong-willed children (called Parent Management Training), work individually with your child/teen to help with emotion regulation, or recommend family therapy to improve communication. We can design a plan that will address your family’s unique needs and preferences.

Parents of children with ADHD often struggle to understand their child’s diagnosis and are unsure about how to enforce expectations for a child with inattentive and hyperactive traits. Children and teens with ADHD often feel misunderstood and are frustrated with themselves and family members. Clinicians at Thriving Child Center can guide your family to find a path that supports your child’s strengths while also improving communication and limit-setting.

Older children and teenagers can be hard to understand and can make decisions that are scary to adults around them. Often, children and teens will act out in problematic ways when they are struggling with internal events and difficult emotions. Specialists will teach your teen skills to regulate their emotions, cope with difficulties, express themselves appropriately, and respond to challenges. We will work with your family to help everyone understand one another. Treatment will include strategies from evidence-based treatments including:

• Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT),

• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

When your child has experienced a scary event, such as exposure to abuse, sexual assault, or witness to someone being hurt, it can be hard to know what will help. Sometimes we think we can avoid thinking or talking about it, but the symptoms don’t go away.

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is considered by the Child Traumatic Stress Network to be the one of the best treatments for children who have experienced trauma. This is not “talk therapy;” instead it is a direct skills approach that will help you and your child understand the difficulties related to trauma, learn strategies for managing symptoms, and ultimately talk about and move on from the traumatic event. Dealing with trauma is hard, so knowing your treatment will help is important. Children who complete TF-CBT often do not experience any trauma-related symptoms after therapy is over.

Sometimes children appear to be acting out, but they are really dealing with internal sadness or worry that they cannot express or control. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is helpful treatment that teaches children to change their mood and worries by changing their thoughts and behaviors. One child wrote about her experiences with anxiety treatment at Thriving Child Center.

Clinicians at Thriving Child Center are also experienced treating severe anxiety disorders, including Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Separation Anxiety, and Panic Disorder. Severe anxiety can make it hard for children to thrive at home and at school and interfere with their daily lives. Well-researched techniques such as exposure and response prevention help children to face their fears in a safe way and learn how to use bravery to approach obstacles.