Our list of comprehensive services for children and their families continues to expand with The Disruptive Behavior Clinic (DBC), a new program under the clinical direction of Carri Hill, Ph.D. and Pia Todras, Psy.D., members of the Psychological Services team at JCFS Chicago.

The purpose of the clinic is help families with children aged 2-12 who are experiencing difficulty in managing their child's behavior, or who are concerned with emotion or behavior regulation at home, school or in public settings. Some examples of behavioral issues are noncompliance, aggression, irritability and tantrums.

“Disruptive behaviors in children are one of the most common concerns for families starting counseling, often times these behaviors can be very difficult to manage and interfere with a child’s functioning across domains – home, school, friendships and recreational activities, “ says Alysa Slay, Psy.D. Director of Psychological Services at JCFS Chicago.  “Now we have a specialty clinic, embedded in an agency with a continuum of services, that offers parents and children new skills and tools for managing disruptive behavior.”

The Disruptive Behavior Clinic consists of three components:

Diagnostic Assessment of the Family and Child:

• Interview with primary caregivers to obtain information about the child’s developmental and behavioral history
• Developmental/cognitive assessment to evaluate language and cognitive abilities
• Structured observational assessment to observe the child’s ability to cope with frustration and to observe important parent-child interactions
• Teacher/caregiver questionnaires (as warranted)
• Additional observation of the child’s behavior at daycare or school (as warranted)

Collaborative Feedback with Caregivers:

• Following completion of the evaluation, our psychologists will conduct a feedback session with caregivers to review assessment findings and provide recommendations

Evidence-Based Treatment Approach:

• Family-based parent behavior management treatment 
• Examples of session topics:
  • Strengthening parent-child relationship
  • Understanding behavior as a form of communication
  • Developing appropriate expectations
  • Focus on the value of parental attention; teach specific skills, practice skills in session and provide homework for transferring skills at home and school

The Disruptive Behavior Clinic at JCFS Chicago is unique because of our ability to provide assessment and parenting training for families with toddlers to pre-teens.

“We are excited to have our first client come to us through strong collaboration with our counseling program.  It is really wonderful when we can provide this continuity of care to our clients for both general therapy, as well as specialized interventions,” said Slay.

For more information about The Disruptive Behavior Clinic, call 855.275.5237 or visit us online at jcfs.org.