Big Emotions & Challenging Behaviors

Treatment Options for Ages 1-12

 
Mother with a son riding on her back outside, both of them laughing together.
 
 

Disruptive behaviors in childhood have been linked to higher rates of high school dropout, substance abuse, unemployment, and even incarceration.

But the right treatment now, can start a child down a new path.
At Hamilton Family Counseling we specialize in therapy for children ages 1-12 with big emotions and challenging behaviors like those listed below.

 
 

  • o fussiness
    o cries easily
    o hard to calm
    o anger
    o frustration
    o easily upset
    o irritability
    o on edge, restless, or jumpy
    o fears
    o worries
    o phobias
    o separation anxiety
    o nightmares
    o difficulty sleeping
    o perfectionism
    o unrealistic expectations of self/others
    o chronic head, stomach, or body aches that have no medical cause

  • o whining or clinging
    o yelling or screaming
    o difficulty getting along with siblings/peers
    o outbursts, meltdowns, or tantrums
    o difficulty following rules or instructions
    o fear or avoidance of speaking
    o difficulty with transitions
    o potty challenges
    o arguing or blaming
    o difficulty with morning routine
    o difficulty going or staying in bed
    o difficulty with mealtime or picky eating
    o avoidance of school or homework
    o name calling, fighting, hitting
    o throwing or breaking objects
    o difficulty with completing tasks
    o difficulty with focus or paying attention
    o hyperactivity
    o impulsivity

  • o Child anxiety
    o Social emotional delay
    o Strong willed personality
    o Infant and toddler development
    o Sensitive temperament
    o ADHD
    o Moving homes or birth of a sibling
    o Autism and intellectual disability
    o Stressful or traumatic event like placement in foster care
    o History of medical issues that have created lingering behavioral patterns

    Whatever the reason, contact us for a free consultation to see if our services might be a good fit for your family.

Foster and adoptive families can especially benefit.
LGBTQIA+ Affirmative

 

Treatment Options

One treatment we provide is Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), which many experts consider to be the gold standard in treating childhood disruptive behaviors because hundreds of studies over 40 years have shown PCIT to be nurturing and effective.

Through PCIT parents learn a special set of play therapy skills and behavior therapy skills so they can become their child's therapeutic specialist with the confidence to facilitate their child’s self regulation of emotions and help them respond to instructions quickly and happily.


For children with ADHD, PCIT has been recommended by the CDC as a first line of treatment for children 6 and under before trying stimulant medication.

With strategies that are nurturing and effective, PCIT can radically transform behaviors in just 14 weeks, improve school behaviors, and improve the behavior of siblings.


More about PCIT for ADHD.
More about PCIT for children in foster care.
More about our Stance on Timeouts.

 

Let’s work together to transform your child’s challenges into triumphs and increase the peace and connection in your home!

The PC-CARE Parenting Protocol

We also provide PC-CARE, one of the newest protocols to evolve out of PCIT that was developed at UC Davis Children’s Hospital. PC-CARE can address big emotions and challenging behaviors that arise from many causes including the following:

Mother and father playing with blocks on their living room floor with their toddler son and school aged daughter.
Mother, father, daugher, and grandparents sitting at the dinner room table, smiling and eating dinner, illustrating how PCIT and PC-CARE can help families resolve common behavioral issues at mealtime to bring joy back to their interactions.

PC-CARE is also a great option for parents who just want to move beyond traditional discipline and learn new parenting strategies that are nurturing and effective. In fact, PC-CARE equips parents with more than a dozen additional parenting strategies than PCIT.

A recent study showed PC-CARE to have a greater rate of improvement than standard PCIT over a comparable time period. And since PC-CARE treatment can be completed in 6 treatment sessions, this brief treatment may be the effective and more affordable option for eligible families.

Additional Options

We also provide Parent Only Strategy Sessions where parents can ask questions and get on the same page with quick, practical parenting solutions that both parents agree on.

And our Online Parenting Bootcamp teaches the principles of PCIT and PC-CARE in a support group atmosphere from the comfort of your home.

Let’s Work Together