Therapy services
We provide individual, couples, and family therapy.
When treating children, we work with the whole family system to create behavioral plans for change and implement greenspan floor time for growth and attachment.
We will develop treatment plans and work with parents, physicians, occupational therapists, speech therapists, teachers, and tutors to help your child progress to the best of his or her ability.
Behavioral Problems
Many parents wonder if the behavior of their child is developmentally normal or if it meets the threshold of a behavioral “problem”. There are commonly two types of behavioral disorders.
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
This is often diagnosed in younger children and is characterized by a child
who is defiant, disobedient or hostile towards adults or authority figures.
These children may:
- Lose their temper
- Argue with adults
- Refuse to comply with rules
- Be resentful and angry
Conduct Disorder
This is often diagnosed in older children and teens and begins as an Oppositional Defiant Disorder in childhood. Symptoms may be:
- Cruelty to animals or other children
- Stealing
- Fighting
- Fire setting
- Lack of empathy
The symptoms of both ODD and CD are often overlapping with mood disorders like depression, bipolar disorder and ADHD, so appropriate diagnosis is crucial for intervention to be successful.
Depression In Children And Teens
Is my child/teenager experiencing depressive symptoms?
Depression in children can manifest in symptoms that include:
- School refusal
- Clinginess to a parent
- Worry that a parent will die
- Pretending to be ill
- Irritable mood
- Loss of interest in pleasured activity
- Change in appetite
- Change in sleep patterns
- Poor self esteem, poor self value
- Risk taking behaviors
- Lethargic or hyperactive
- Difficulty concentrating
- Unable to tolerate frustration
- Angry outbursts
- Thoughts about suicide or self-mutilation (cutting)
These symptoms will occur differently in every child/teenager, so appropriate evaluation and diagnostic testing is imperative. For example teens experiencing depression may tend to get into trouble at school, be sullen, angry, have a sad mood, be grouchy, negative and feel misunderstood.
Anxiety in Children and Adolescents
Is my child anxious? This is a question many parents ask psychologists. The following are symptoms that commonly occur in children suffering from anxiety:
- Difficulty separating from parents
- Fear of parents dying
- Refusal to attend school
- Feigning illness to avoid school
- Clinginess
- Difficulty sleeping
- Avoidance of social interactions
- Few friends outside of family
- Fears about meeting or speaking to people
- Constant worry about family, friends or events to come
- Unwanted thoughts or obsessions
- Fears of making a mistake
- Poor confidence
What will MindWell suggest for treatment?
A clinician at MindWell will thoroughly evaluate your child to specifically understand the type of behavior or mood problem that is occurring. Then, a clinician will design a treatment plan to address your child and family’s individual needs. Therapy may include:
- Behavioral Plan/Behavior Modification
- Play Therapy
- Greenspan Style Floor Time
- Learning Coping Skills/Self Soothing
- Role Play
- Relaxation Training
- Parental Guidance and Consultation
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)