Many times parents want to use individual therapy to address their children’s misbehavior. When the misbehavior is related to an identifiable stressor, such as a change in family, a relocation, or a traumatic event, then this approach may be appropriate.
However, most evidence based therapy for addressing child behavior problems, including Oppositional Defiant Disorder involves teaching parents behavioral methods for addressing their children’s misbehavior.
We offer several parent training programs for behavior management:
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an evidence based treatment for ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Disorder for children ages 2 through 6. It involves treatment in two phases: a Child Directed Interaction (CDI) phase and a Parent Directed Interaction (PDI) phase. In the CDI phase, parents learn new ways of interacting with their children. In the PDI phase, parents learn how to give effective commands and how to gain their children’s compliance. Treatment takes place using live coaching with your therapist observing behind a one-way mirror.
Barkley’s Defiant Child program is similar, but is typically used for older school age children.
Barkley’s Defiant Teen program is an evidence based treatment for use with teenagers. This follows a similar two phase approach to treatment as PCIT and the Defiant Child program. However, the modules are adapted developmentally for older youth. Parents are taught to give effective commands and to make effective use of grounding for discipline.