Sometimes parents need more support and coaching than a manual or self-help book can provide. Parents can feel ineffectual with problematic child behavior, leading to high frustration and conflict within the family. Through different parent skills training and interventions we partner with families to improve the struggles they may be having with their children, and help them begin to find joy in their family relationships again.
Filial therapy is an evidenced-based treatment, closely related to Child Centered Play Therapy that invites parents and caregivers to be the direct agents of therapeutic change. These sessions are often called “special playtime.” The therapist will work directly with each family to make an individualized plan to fit specifically to each family’s interests and needs. Parents are trained to provide their own child-centered play sessions, with empathy and clear limits.
SPACE stands for Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions and is a parent-based treatment program for children and adolescents with anxiety, OCD, and related problems. Developed by Dr. Eli Lebowitz at the Yale Child Study Center, SPACE has been tested and found to be efficacious in randomized controlled clinical trials.