How do I know if therapy is right for me or my child/teen?
Everyone feels stressed, scared, sad, and angry at some point in their life. It can be difficult to know when these feelings are part of normal life and when they are cause for concern. Signs that you or your child/teen may benefit from therapy include:
Thoughts or feelings that get in the way of daily activities, such as school/work, chores, or social activities
Irritability or frequent changes in mood or emotions
Problem behavior, such as refusing to complete tasks, yelling/arguing, tantrums/outbursts, or behavior that does not match the child’s age
Changes in sleep or appetite (e.g., sleeping or eating too little or too much)
Challenges in relationships, such as frequent arguments
Thoughts of harming oneself or others
Dr. Pittman specializes in treating disorders that cause all of these symptoms, especially if they occur after stressful or traumatic experiences.
Evidence-Based Therapy
Dr. Pittman uses a range of evidenced-based treatments to treat mental health concerns. She primarily uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, which are two treatment approaches that have strong research support for improving mental health. She also provides behavioral management training to help caregivers manage disruptive behaviors in children and teenagers. Dr. Pittman incorporates a strengths-based and culturally-responsive approach in her therapy to tailor evidence-based treatments to meet the individual needs of each client.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is effective in treating a range of mental health concerns including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and behavior problems. CBT focuses on how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are related and influence each other.
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is a version of CBT that is tailored to treating distress symptoms following traumatic experiences among children and teenagers. TF-CBT focuses on teaching relaxation skills and changing distorted thoughts about the traumatic experience.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) for teens was developed to teach skills to reduce emotional and behavioral dysregulation. DBT skills fall into five categories: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, walking the middle path, and interpersonal effectiveness.
Behavior Management for Caregivers
Behavior Management or Behavioral Parent Training focuses on teaching caregivers skills to manage difficult and problem behavior in children and teens. Caregivers play an important role in therapy and learn skills that will help increase desired behavior and decrease undesirable behavior.