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A special program, unique in many ways: earning international respect for developing innovative, creative therapy methods for children, adults, and families.
We provide therapy to children, adults, and families with emotional or adjustment problems due to loss or separation from one or both parents. We specialize in helping adoptive, divorced, and step families; families who have experienced death of a parent; children and adults who have experienced physical, emotional or sexual abuse and neglect, and grandparents raising grandchildren.
| UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEMS: |
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Emotions, Attitudes, Values and Behaviors:
Many children who experience loss of or separation from one or both parents develop behavioral problems (such as lying, stealing, breaking rules, refusal to take responsibility for their actions, underachievement at school, manipulating one authority figure against another, quick temper, sabotaging relationships, trouble concentrating and destructiveness) that often do not respond to typical parenting, teaching, and therapy methods such as rewarding, punishing or consequences. As a result, many parents experience much anxiety, sadness, and frustration when the children persist with self-defeating, oppositional, irritating behaviors. The main reason why these behaviors are resistant to change is because they are not just behavioral problems - they are the outward signs of underlying emotional problems including:
 | impairment in the ability to become emotionally close to, attached to, and trusting of others, resulting in difficulties developing and maintaining meaningful relationships; | | a strong need to perceive themselves as having some control over some aspects of their life in order to compensate for feelings of helplessness, vulnerability and insecurity produced by their having experienced pain and trauma over which they had little or no control;
| | impaired sense of identity, including low self-esteem;
| | strong feelings of anger and rage; | | selfish values;
| | developmental delays and regression; and
| | negative attitudes.
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It is my philosophy that these emotional problems must be worked on in an organized, systematic way for the behaviors to be reduced. If these problems are not resolved in childhood or adolescence, they will affect adulthood, including relationships with spouse and children.
Therapists are willing to work with school personnel, including attending some school meetings, in order to help children, parents and teachers work together as a team.
My program has helped thousands of children, including many who had not responded to other program or who were on the verge of being placed in psychiatric hospitals or long-term residential facilities. Many families have come 50-300 miles each way to participate.
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