Early Childhood Mental Health Specialists provide assessments and therapeutic services to children ranging in age from birth to five, along with support for their families in an effort to increase the social and emotional well being of children.
It is sometimes hard to determine if a child is just being a child or if there is a deeper problem at the core of a child’s behavior.
With children under 5, it is especially tough to determine if they may need some specialized help or if, as a family, you think you would all benefit from an outside perspective. Perhaps there has been a trauma in your lives, such as the loss of a loved one or something even more simple like moving to a new city. These changes can be traumatic for very young children.
Further, children develop at different rates and in different ways and what may seem like regular growing pains may be more than that. For example, if you have found your child has trouble playing with others, or you have noticed destructive behavior like breaking toys out of frustration, then you may want to consider seeking help. If your child bites or hits others or if they are always crying – or the opposite, showing no emotion – then an assessment with an Early Childhood Mental Health clinician may be beneficial to your family.
Early Childhood Mental Health professionals can bridge the gap between adults and children to help improve social behavior, address emotions and help reduce disruptive behavior. We tailor treatment to include sessions with the individual, family and in groups. One such group treatment option is Dinosaur School.
Dinosaur School is a group treatment strategy focusing on three to eight year old children that targets social competence, classroom behavior, self calming and problem solving.
Four Rivers Behavioral Health’s Early Childhood therapists can provide comprehensive testing services for children under 5 years old. Our companion Testing & Assessment program in our Center for Specialized Children’s Services work with children over 5 years of age.
Children often have a difficult time explaining why they feel the way they feel. Early Childhood Mental Health Specialists use constructive play techniques to help children learn how to express themselves.
When we begin to work with children, we look to the whole family as partners in the solution. Being a parent is hard; parenting a child who is having a difficult time is even harder. We are here to help.
We will engage the entire family to help rebuild relationships and formulate a plan that will help improve the family dynamic and support healthy growth and self-esteem in children. We will develop an individualized program that can include everything from discipline techniques to hints on bedtime routines along with counseling and coping skills for the entire family.
In addition to working directly with children and their families, our Early Childhood Mental Health experts
provide Early Care and Education Training (ECETRIS). We also provide educational opportunities and consultations for community and government programs such as Head Start, local day care and preschool programs.
This treatment approach is especially usefulwith children aged two to 10 and is exactly what it sounds like – working to build the parent/child relationship and reduce problem behaviors.
A group treatment focusing on three to eight year old children that targets social competence, classroom behavior, self calming and problem solving.
Child/Parent Psychotherapy focuses on addressing trauma in children up to five years old and the attachment between caregiver and child.
A child to early teen approach to promote
positive and secure attachments with
caregivers.