VB Child and Family Psychological Services Inc.

I provide therapy for children and youth up to age 19 years

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I use a collaborative and strengths based approach that helps foster resilience in children and youth. I believe that "Kids do well if they can" (Dr. Ross Greene). When they are not doing well it is the job of the adults to help figure out what is going on to best support them.

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Working with parents and caregivers. My preference is to involve parents and caregivers as needed (with permission from older youth capable of providing consent) to promote social, emotional and behavioural adjustment and attachment security in their loved one. For example, we might explore what is “behind” concerning behaviors or expressed emotions. I am a trained facilitator in the Connect Attachment Program and Emotion Focused Family Therapy and I incorporate aspects of both programs in my therapeutic work with parents. For example, I may help support you in being your child’s emotion and behavior coach, and together we might explore the attachment needs underling concerning emotions and behaviors.

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I provide evidence-based treatment for a wide range of issues and concerns, including:

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• Externalizing problems or challenging behaviors

  • These behaviors may include whining, crying, screaming, swearing, hitting, running away, biting or worse

  • Sometimes children and youth with these types of behaviors have been told they are “oppositional” or “manipulative”; however, all the time-outs and other things tried are not only not working, but are making things worse

  • For externalizing and challenging behaviors, I often use an approach influenced by the work of Dr. Ross Greene called Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS)

  • I work with parents/caregivers in understanding the meaning behind their child’s behaviors, what lagging skills the child needs help with, and to help kids and caregivers to solve the problems together

  • Depending on the age of the child and referral concern I may do individual therapy with the child or youth, we may have joint parent-child sessions, or I may only work with parents and caregivers.

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• Internalizing problems

  • These areas of difficulty are those “kept inside” such as anxiety, depression/sadness, frustration, shame, feeling unloved or unwanted, and low self-esteem

  • Sometimes externalizing and internalizing problem areas are linked (e.g., a sad and anxious child may hit, spit and hide)

  • Some of the warning signs of internalizing problems may include somatic complaints such as headaches, poor concentration and stomach aches. Youth may also be sleeping and eating more or less than usual. Sometimes kids have stopped engaging in activities they used to find pleasurable.

  • Treatment of internalizing problems may include talk therapy (for older children and youth) and play therapy for younger children

  • Treatment approaches are client centered and may involve cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as well as emotion coaching for parents.

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• School refusal and avoidance

  • I work with both the child and parents/caregivers to be "detectives" in figuring out why the child/youth is refusing or avoiding school (e.g., separation anxiety, bullying, an unidentified learning disorder)

  • Treatment will depend on the underlying reasons, but typically I use a cognitive-behavioral approach in supporting children and youth with school refusal and avoidance

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• Grief and Loss

  • I can support children, youth and their parents when there is bereavement (including pets)

  • Experiencing grief firsthand is often confusing for kids. Therapy can support this by providing a safe place to talk about feelings and supporting healthy coping skills.

  • Parents and caregivers may be involved by learning about typical reactions to grief and loss, by providing a safe place for the child in a time of uncertainly, and to support the child’s healthy expression of feelings.

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• Adapting to changes

  • An adjustment disorder is an unusually strong or long-lasting reaction to a stressful event such as parents’ divorce, a relationship break-up (teens and young adults), or moving to a new house or school.

  • Children and youth may present with new or worsened externalizing or internalizing problems (e.g., anxiety, depression, temper outbursts, running away), as well as general irritability.

  • A sign that your child or youth may have an adjustment disorder is that their reaction lasts much longer than you would usually expect and significantly interferes with their daily life.

  • Treatment may be individual or involve caregivers, with therapeutic interventions related to the presenting concerns.

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• Encopresis (soiling/pooping) and enuresis (peeing)

  • Enuresis means urinating where a child shouldn’t (e.g., in bed or in clothing) and encopresis means defecating (pooping) where a child shouldn’t (e.g., in clothes or on the floor).

  • To have enuresis or encopresis a child must be old enough to be toilet trained, meaning 5 years old or older for enuresis and 4 years old or older for encopresis. As well, it must also happen regularly.

  • It may be important to rule out medical reasons before pursuing psychological interventions for enuresis and encropresis

  • Therapy involves working with parents/caregivers on using developmentally appropriate expectations, helping their child become aware of the signs their body uses to tell them they need to go to the bathroom, promoting healthy eating and drinking habits important for bowel and bladder control, and the use of positive behavioral supports

  • It is important to know that children almost never wet or soil their clothes to upset you. Most children would rather be able to use the toilet properly.

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• Sleep difficulties

  • I work with children, teens and parents/caregivers on concerns related to sleep problems that do not have a physiological cause. This may include difficulties falling and staying asleep, refusal to sleep in their own bed, and waking too early.

  • Sleep difficulties can create a sleepy, irritable and often poor-performing student at school, and a cranky, unhappy child or teenager at home.

  • Treatment may involve psycho-education (sleep hygiene), collecting data at home around sleep to figure out what is getting in the way, using CBT approaches to support improved sleep habits, and parent education around accommodation behaviors and the use of positive behavioral supports.

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• Bad Habits

  • I can work with children and youth on changing, reducing, or eliminating habits, such as thumb sucking, hair twirling, hair pulling (including eyebrows and eyelashes), scab and skin picking, and shirt chewing.

  • The treatment approach for changing and eliminating habits is typically cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and I like to work with both the child/youth and parents when this is the area of concern so that parents can support change at home.

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• Reducing screen time (TV, video games, phone)

  • If you are looking for help in supporting your child or teen to reduce their screen time I can help

  • Common challenges I support include helping parents/caregivers with setting limits and supporting their children to find alternatives to screen time.

  • I like to use a collaborative problem-solving approach and together we can work on a Family Media Use Plan based on the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendations

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