When a child suffers from emotional distress, is irritable, inattentive or oppositional, parents wonder whether there is a problem at school, a bully at the playground, a learning disability, or an emerging anxiety or mood imbalance. Further, there may be stress at home due to family conflict, unemployment, or financial distress. Children are referred for evaluation and treatment at Common Sense Therapy when their parents and family, despite their best efforts look for professional help and guidance in making a clear assessment of the problem at hand, and laying out a plan of action to address the causes. At Common Sense Therapy we care for families whose children need help with:
• Anxiety disorders including Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Social Phobia, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Panic Disorder.
• Behavior disorders including Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional /Defiant Disorder.
• Habit disorders including nail biting, skin picking, hair pulling, stimming.
• Social Skill disorders including Asperger’s Syndrome and non-verbal learning disorders.
• Mood disorders including Major and Minor Depression, and other mood dysregulation disorders.
• Parents undergoing marital conflict, separation or divorce.
• Coping with illness, death or other loss.
• Elimination disorders such as Enuresis/Encopresis.
• Medical conditions including Cancer, Juvenile Diabetes, Arthritis and other autoimmune disorders.
• Pain disorders including Recurrent Abdominal Pain, Headaches, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, and Complex Regional Pain Syndromes.
Our aim is to empower parents and children by teaching them new coping skills, fostering age-appropriate self-reliance, and self-awareness, with the ultimate goal of full academic and social functioning. We work closely with the family pediatrician, school staff and if necessary, a psychiatrist to monitor and supervise medical care.