Treatment groups
Disruptive behavior disorders group
The disruptive behavior disorders group is a treatment program for school-aged children their parents. The children's ages range from six to nine years of age; the behavior disorders treated in the group include oppositional defiant disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The 12-week group meets on Mondays from 4:30 to 6 pm. The children and parents each meet during the same time in separate rooms.
Topics for the group include:
For children
- Self-regulation skills
- Social skills
- Conflict resolution
- Effective communication
- Appropriate expression of feelings
- Responsible behavior
For parents
- Praise and play
- Rewards and consequences
- Time-out
- Behavior charts
- Good communication skills
- Building coping and stress management skills
- Medication issues
- Learning/language disability issues
Parents are referred to the disruptive behavior disorders group after a diagnostic evaluation by a Children's Memorial clinician. Upon completion of the 12-week group program, the family returns to the primary referring clinician to discuss any on-going treatment needs.
Healthy kids group
In this group, therapy services focus on health-related behaviors, which includes a review of nutrition and eating, physical activity and stress management. The emphasis is on improving overall health-related knowledge and decision-making (such as portion size, reading food labels, making physical activity enjoyable and adaptive ways of coping with stress).
Groups are available for school-aged children (7-12) and adolescents (13 and up).
To make a referral or for more information call 1.800.KIDS DOC.
Sleep disturbance group
Thie group offers help for children who have difficulties with sleep, which can include children who have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, waking too early in the morning and children with trouble napping. The premise is that the sleep disturbance is behavioral in nature, which could also include anxieties related to sleep, such as separation anxiety and fears.
Three different groups are offered: one for preschoolers (age 2-6 years), one for school-age children (7-12 years) and one for adolescents (13-17years). The groups are structured with separate groups for parents and children. The parent group focuses on strategies to use to aid their children in improved sleep including:
- Why is sleep so important and what happens when children don’t get enough sleep
- Sleep routines and sleep hygiene
- How to get your children to bed at night
- How to keep your children in their beds/rooms at night
- What to do when your child wakes up in the middle of the night
- What to do when your child wakes up too early in the morning
- How to get your child (preschooler) to nap
- Anxieties related to sleep
- How various medications affect sleep – good and bad
The child group addresses the following:
- Helping children understand the importance of sleep
- Establishing sleep routines
- Relaxation techniques
- Fear/anxieties related to sleep
- Behavioral plans for sleep
The 6-week groups meet on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday in the late afternoons and are led by two psychologists.
To make a referral or for more information call 1.800.KIDS DOC.
Social skills group
The social skills group, facilitated by a licensed clinical social worker, is a two-series program designed to help children build, practice, and strengthen communication and relationship-building skills. The program is are designed so that children are grouped appropriately with others 7 to 8 years of age, 9 to 11 years and 12 to 13 years. Series I and II are each comprised of 10 to 12, 90-minute weekly sessions. Each week focuses on a different aspect of communication and socialization. Self-esteem building, conflict resolution, social problem-solving, considering the perspective of others, reading social cues, and dealing with teasing are examples of some of these topics.
Parents and caregivers are involved in a parent orientation to the program and participate in the ceremony at the completion of each series. They are also given weekly feedback about their child’s participation in group. Children are typically referred to the program by their primary clinician within the department as an adjunct to an overall treatment plan.