Kids in the Crossfire of Divorced and Blended Families: Interventions for Anxious, Depressed and Oppositional Children – Steve OBrien

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Children caught in the crossfire of divorce and those struggling with a new blended family frequently exhibit emotional and behavioral difficulties.

Children’s challenges may become exponential when divorce-related conflict is chronic and/or when parents’ new relationships lead to cohabitation or remarriage.

Kids end up stuck in the middle, taking on the role of fixer or therapist. Negative talk about each parent fuels blame games and regression while reunion fantasies persist.

Watch child-family psychologist, Dr. Steve O’Brien, who will provide you with a practical treatment approach for children struggling with anxiety, depression, and oppositional behavior secondary to divorced and blended family stressors.

Treatment techniques will include:

• Rapport-building and interview methods for children in divorce and blended family environments
• Distress-management skills for children facing the stress of family conflict and transition
• Strategies to improve co-parenting and to help blended families better integrate
• Family-focused art, play, and game therapy techniques
• Developmentally-tailored cognitive-behavioral interventions
• Effective treatments for family-related anxiety, depression, and oppositional behavior
• Practical tactics for teachers to assist distressed children in the classroom

Upon watching this recording, you will walk away with multiple clinical tools and leave feeling empowered to take on the challenges of helping children struggling with highly stressful family transitions.

1. Identify developmental manifestations of childhood distress secondary to divorced/blended family stressors.
2. Discover effective methods of rapport-building with children and parents/step parents to enhance treatment outcomes for anxious, depressed and oppositional children.
3. Utilize semi-structured interview and observational formats for obtaining developmental, emotional and behavioral information about distressed children in divorced/blended families.
4. Recognize five typical emotional/behavioral responses in children coping with stressful divorced/blended family dynamics.
5. Implement developmentally appropriate cognitive-behavioral techniques with anxious/depressed children facing family transitions.
6. Apply individualized behavior management and communication techniques for reducing oppositional behavior in children seeking control.
7. Develop family-focused therapy techniques to reduce distress and disruptive behavior in children.
8. Recommend classroom management strategies teachers can utilize for responding to children’s highly emotional or disruptive behavior at school.

CHALLENGES FOR CHILDREN FACING DIVORCE & FAMILY TRANSITION

Multiple Losses, Multiple Reactions

• Divorce Do’s and Don’ts: How Kids Cope with Parental Missteps
• Reduce Children’s Distress due to Dysfunctional Co-Parenting
• Helping Kids Cope with Parents’ New Relationships
• Divorce-related Grief and Loss

Blended Families: In Reality, “Semi-Integrated if You’re Lucky”

• ”Blood is Thicker than Water”
• Through Children’s Eyes: Residential Invaders and Parent Stealers
• Healthier Family Functioning via Management rather than Resolution
• Guidelines for Smoother Stepparent-Child Relationships
• Strategies for Relationship Protection and Semi-Integration

TREATMENT TECHNIQUES FOR KIDS IN THE CROSSFIRE

Intervention Strategies for Anxious Children

• The 3-R Approach to Anxiety Management
• Daily Relaxation Rituals
• Child-Friendly CBT (No Homework!)
• Family-Focused Play/Art Therapy
• Transition-Management Skills for Dual Households

Intervention Strategies for Oppositional Children

• Root Causes of Oppositional/Defiant Behavior
• Defiance as expression of Anxiety and Depression
• Social-Emotional Behavioral Assessment
• Cooperation and Consequences vs. Compliance and Punishment
• Creative Alternatives to Traditional Behavior Modification

Intervention Strategies for Depressed Children

• Effective Rapport Building and Interpersonal Approaches
• Child-Friendly Mood Management Skills
• Game Play Therapy for Family Dynamic
• Therapeutic Technologies
• Emotive Communication Skill-Building

Interventions for High-Risk Children

• Vindictive/Revengeful Behavior
• Physically Destructive Behavior
• Aggressive/Violent Behavior
• Suicidal/Self-Harming Behavior
• Non-Suicidal Self Injury
• Repetitive Substance Abuse
• Socially Rejected/Excluded Children

Assisting Distressed Children at School: Tactics for Educators

• ”BASE” Method for Assessing Childhood Functioning
• Family-Related Stress and Academic/Learning Problems
• How Family Conflict Leads to Defiance at School
• Classroom Management for Disruptive Behaviors
• Special Accommodations for Highly Sensitive Children
• Feedback/Discussion Guidelines with Challenging Parents
• School-Wide Solutions for High-Risk Students