About Our Clients

We work with children and adolescents, aged 4 to 21, who experience difficulties managing behaviors, emotions and moods and their parents.

Our clients are children diagnosed with:

• attention deficit disorders
• autism spectrum disorders
• specific learning disabilities

Since parents so often are the people who must help children to manage behavior and emotion, we work closely with families as well.

Here are some typical stories that our patients’ families share with us. Do any sound familiar to you?

“Homework is a nightmare at our house every night.  Our 12 year old has a nonverbal learning disorder and finds much of her homework overwhelming.  She gets anxious and frustrated when she can’t complete it, annoyed that we need to help her so much, and sad that school is so difficult for her.  We all need help with strategies to make school and homework less stressful, and to give her a place to discuss her struggles with someone who understands her needs.”

“Our 10 year old child was recently diagnosed with Asperger’s Disorder. His behavior is fine in school and he holds his own academically. But when he comes home he is irritable and can throw tantrums that last hours.  Nothing we do seems to comfort him.  What can we do to ease his distress?  What strategies can he learn to cope in school and at home?”

“My 15 year old has ADHD-Inattentive type.  She is a hardworking student, but struggles with organization and getting homework finished and turned in on time. Now that she is in high school, her teachers think she is just “lazy” and chooses not to do her work, and her grades are suffering.  What can we do to help her get more organized and help her teachers understand her needs?”

“Our 4 year old son is very anxious and afraid of specific sights and sounds.  His worry prevents us from going to certain places or trying new things.  Sometimes he will become defiant, or throw tantrums when he is overwhelmed.  We need help supporting him and alleviating his stress, and he needs to learn some age appropriate coping skills.”

“Our 7 year old has ADHD, but also seems to dislike certain clothes, textures sounds, and foods.  He can get really active and hyper when he is in certain situations, like a busy mall or at a friend’s birthday party.  He can then escalate into a full fledged tantrum when he can’t escape these overstimulating environments.  We all need help in identifying stressful situations for him and ways he can express his discomfort in appropriate ways.”

“Our 13 year old has been diagnosed as high functioning autistic.  He has  a great academic program and does well there, but he is socially akward and inappropriate at times.  He is aware that he is “different,” and seems sad about it.  He needs a place to talk about these feelings and, as parents, we want to explore ways we can be supportive of his social needs.”

You and your family are likely to be successful working with us if you…

            …want to explore and implement real change in behavioral, emotional and social functioning.

            …are open to new ways of thinking about behavior and emotion.

            …understand that psychotherapy and behavior change require a commitment of resources, including time, emotional energy and finances.

            …accept that change is a process that can take time and understand that there are no “quick fixes.”

            …are open to a partnership model, where children and parents work together with their psychotherapist to explore and implement behavioral, emotional, and social change.

Now that you have an idea about the kinds of clients we work with and the issues we help them with, click here to learn more about  How We Work.