Kelsey, a 6-Year-Old with Behavioral Issues

Kelsey had a history of temper tantrums, most possibly as a result of constant teasing at school concerning her dyslexia.  The teasing and her tantrums  turned her into an outcast among her classmates. No one would play with her at recess. She didn’t get invited to birthday parties and rarely had play dates.  Her issues also impacted her home life where she would kick and scream and constantly and fight with her older sister.  At one point, she told her parents that she wanted to die.

Her parents brought her to a therapist but found, even with one 45-minute a session per week, her condition was not moderating. They knew she needed something more but had no idea what that something was. At one point, someone mentioned The Shoreline Therapy Center and how the program provided support throughout the week and also emphasized staying connected with her school, family and community.

After meeting with The Connections team at The Shoreline Therapy Center, the parents collaborated with them to craft a program for Kelsey which included an individual therapist, a family therapist, a connections coach and a trainer. Sessions for the parents proved to be particularly helpful as the family counselor explored some of the parental triggers that would stimulate bad behavior from Kelsey. They also were trained in soothing exercises such as deep breathing and child meditation that would help calm Kelsey down when needed.

The schedule below details Kelsey’s initial program:

The first 90 days in the program were challenging for both Kelsey and her parents. During the second 90-day period, her parents learned how to better “read” and anticipate Kelsey’s behavioral patterns and became more adept at using soothing exercises to calm her. They even arranged “practice” play dates with several of her classmates. After the second 90 days , Kelsey moderated sufficiently so that services could be cut back to one therapy session, two coaching sessions and one personal training session per week. The parents maintained their weekly session so as to have a sounding board as they continued to address Kelsey’s moderating condition.

*All therapy sessions are 45 minutes and personal training sessions are 30 minutes. Coaching sessions is an hour. Family sessions are an hour.