CENTER FOR POSITIVE CHANGE, PLC
"Helping People Thrive"
__________________________________________________
Center for Positive Change, PLC
Stephanie Fellenberg, Psy.D.
1200 Prince Street, Alexandria, VA 22314
Tel: (703) 201-8140 Fax: (703) 704-5719
__________________________________________________________
Preschoolers (ages 0-5)
When does my preschooler need help from a psychologist? What does psychotherapy for preschoolers look like?
The overwhelming joy of welcoming a new baby soon gives way to sleepless nights, worries about feeding schedules, shots, home safety, and - of course - the little one's physical and emotional development. While parents of new babies might worry about the child's motor development (When should he roll over? When should she take her first steps? When is it best to wean her off the bottle or pacifier?), parents of toddlers and preschoolers wonder about language and social skills and what behavior is OK to ignore or important to modify. In addition, it is often difficult to know whether a child's emotional development (e.g., how he deals with frustration or how fast she can calm down) is within the limits of what can be expected for your child's age.
Thus, if you have questions about parenting your little one, you might want to come in for a consultation. Parents often just need to be assured that they are doing a great job, and that the things they might worry about are normal steps in their child's development. Sometimes, coming to a few sessions for parenting can help you deal with some of the more persistant problems (such as sleeping, feeding problems, tantrums, etc.). Dealing with such issues effectively as soon as they occur will enhance your child's long-term emotional well-being and self-esteem.
However, if you have noticed that your child does not do the same things that other children his age do, and/or she does not gesture, smile, or talk like others, we urge you to consider getting your precious one evaluated for possible developmental delays. Likewise, if your child has difficulty calming herself, exhibits excessive violent behavior, or other persistant problems that only seem to get worse as your child gets older, you should seek help immediately.
Services for Preschoolers:
Psychotherapy for preschoolers is tailored to the problem that the child comes in for. However, for all problems the parent is an integral part to successful psychotherapy. Dr. Fellenberg recognizes the important role that parents play and strives to work collaboratively with parents to help their children. When children have behavioral problems (such as sleep schedule issues, tantrums, etc), most of the work will be with the parents who will act as co-therapist to effectively modify and shape the child's behavior at home. Sometimes, daycare providers and preschool teachers may also be enlisted to help with such problems. In other cases, individual play therapy might be the best way to treat a child, especially in cases of trauma and abuse.
What is play therapy?
Play therapy is used to help very young children heal. Since these children have not yet developed the ability to verbally communicate their thoughts and feelings, they process their experiences through play. The therapist therefore uses play (such as with puppets, dolls, stuffed animals, pretend play) to elicit the child's feelings and to help a child work through his/her experiences.
Dr. Fellenberg understands that it is important to chose the right therapist for your child. Therefore, she offers 20-minute "meet-the-therapist" appointments. For more information, please call (703) 201-8140.