Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

If you’re a parent of a toddler or preschooler, you might be feeling stuck in the daily power struggles and lost in the sea of conflicting parenting information about what to do. If you're an expecting or new parent, you might be struggling to manage your own stress, anxiety, or sleep problems. It is not uncommon for me to hear parents say, “I love my child, but it’s hard, because everything’s a fight.” A strategy session may be all you need to recalibrate a starting point and find your footing.

When children act out persistently so that it causes serious problems at home, in school, or with peers, they may be diagnosed with ODD. For younger children, the treatment with the strongest evidence is behavior therapy training for parents, where a therapist helps the parent learn effective ways to strengthen the parent-child relationship and respond to the child’s behavior. Dr. Edwards provides behavioral parent training online.

I am trained to help children and parents with this disorder

I work with children and adolescents who struggle with ODD. I have a behavioral training background and believe in treating the whole child. That means for those who are diagnosed with ODD it impacts their home, school and the community. I work with all three of those areas, consulting and treating to make sure the child/adolescent receives the best care. ODD is a diagnosis that very easily can burn out families. I provide family/ caregiver support on treatment needs.

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (see PCIT.org) is a very well-researched and effective family therapy for children who argue, refuse to follow directions, and may even be aggressive. It helps parents enjoy their children again, reinforce and increase desired behaviors, and also respond calmly and consistently to misbehavior so that it decreases, typically within 12-20 sessions. In office or virtual. I also have several years’ experience working with foster, adoptive, and kinship caregivers.

I have experience working in a school- based setting and offered crisis support to children and teens with a history of behavioral problems. Used the nationally recognized Teaching Family Model to assist youth with learning social skills, anger management, goal setting and basic living skills.

Children and teens labeled with Oppositional Defiant Disorder typically have a lengthy history of cycling through various therapists, and being misunderstood by most of the adults in their lives. As early as preschool, some of these youth have already identified with the label of problem child, villain, bad kid, etc. When working with these clients, I strive to help them shed this label and move forward with a healthy view of themselves. I also enjoy supporting their parents.

You noticed the increasing presence of heightened emotions, refusal to follow directions, constant arguing, and difficulty getting along with others.

Research has consistently demonstrated the effectiveness of Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) for treating children 2-7 years of age with Oppositional Defiant Disorder.