Parent and Child Intervention Therapy with Helping Families Thrive
Structured, individualized & intensive support for parents and children struggling with emotion regulation.
Therapy for Families Navigating Emotional and Behavioral Challenges
Parenting a child with big feelings can be isolating and exhausting, especially when the strategies that “should” work don’t seem to help. Many parents arrive here already doing everything they can, yet still feeling unsure, overwhelmed, or stuck.
You’re not failing. Parenting children with emotional and behavioral challenges is hard, and needing support is not a sign that something has gone wrong.
- No one is sleeping, and nights are spent searching for answers that never quite fit.
- Feelings are held in all day, then released through screaming, tears, or shutdowns.
- Emotional outbursts happen at home or in public, ending another family gathering early.
- Anxiety shows up as avoidance, meltdowns, or constant reassurance-seeking.
Many parents feel trapped between two extremes: pushing a child to “buck up” or accommodating because “they’re not ready yet.” That back-and-forth often leaves families exhausted and unsure how to move forward.
Parenting and child intervention therapy support families living in that middle space. The work blends evidence-based approaches, including principles from the Incredible Years Program, with individualized parent support to reduce emotional dysregulation, address accommodation patterns, and build skills that support both regulation and growth.
The focus is not on perfection or control, but on steadier days, clearer responses, and a family system that can hold both struggle and joy.
Parent Services with: Dr. Alvarez
Our work balances learning concrete tools with processing the complexities of parenting children with big feelings. Often, the parenting experience does not match what we imagined or feel it “should” be. This disconnect can create shame, anger, and distress. Dr. Shanna Sarita Alvarez is passionate about helping parents reconnect with their values, within and beyond their parenting role. Reconnecting with these values can increase acceptance and inner peace within their family. Parental well-being matters. It is the foundation for children’s well-being and must be acknowledged as part of any child’s intervention.
All parent programs (group, individual and summer programs) begin with the therapist and family collecting pre-intervention data. Next, we co-create a treatment plan with concrete goals that reflect each family’s values and priorities. Each week we introduce a new, rigorously studied parenting tool. Dr. Alvarez will provide psychoeducation and myth busting, then model and practice each new tool with you. We will make a plan on how to best use the tool within your specific family.
Parents are assigned homework each week. Dr. Alvarez reviews homework logs during the week so that she is aware of successes and challenges prior to parents’ next session; homework completion and review ensures that we are ready to troubleshoot any issues that may have arisen and move forward to the next step in intervention. This process continues weekly until your toolbox is full at the end of the program! At the end of the program, we collect post-intervention data and meet with you to celebrate victories and plan for any next steps or support your family may need.
What parents learn
Relationship & Skill Building
- Value Identification & Goal Setting
- Child-Directed Play
- Academic, Social and Emotional Coaching
- Co-parenting skills
- Parental and sibling well being strategies
Encouraging Cooperative Behaviors
- Praise and Encouragement
- Effective Routines
- Effective Rewards
Discipline/Reducing Challenging Behaviors
- Family Rules
- Clear Limit Setting
- Ignoring
- Breaks & Time-Out to Calm Down
- Natural and Logical Consequences
- Safety Planning
Child Services with: Dr. Davis
Intervention will begin with a caregiver-child play session. The primary purpose of this session is to collect data and get to know your family. In intervention sessions, clinicians teach and practice emotion regulation, anger management, problem-solving, tools for sibling/peer interaction, social skills, and more. The language used mirrors that taught to parents in parent sessions, allowing all family members to build emotional vocabulary and coping skills together.
Each week, a new social, emotional, or behavioral skill is added to your child’s toolbox. At the end of the program, we collect post-intervention data and meet with you and your child to celebrate victories and plan for any next steps or support your family may need.
What Your Child Will Learn
Understanding School Rules and Behavior Expectations
Detecting and Understanding Feelings
Problem Solving
Managing Big Feelings
Friendship Skills and Social Development
How to Enroll
Step 1: Review our range of telehealth and in-person therapy options here.
Step 2: Download and review our Service Agreement Form. This form provides detailed service descriptions, dates, insurance information and costs for services.
Step 3: After reviewing the Service Agreement Form, schedule your intake session for winter or spring session using the request appointment button below. Be sure to carefully following instructions from the Service Agreement Form to select the correct service.
Step 4: Monitor your inbox for an email from Simple Practice, our booking and records system. You will receive all enrollment paperwork and appointment details via email within 1-2 business days.
Schedule an Appointment
If you have selected a program and are scheduling your intake session, please refer to the Service Agreement Form and follow scheduling instructions carefully.
Still not sure which program is best for you? Schedule a one-time consultation session here.
