QUESTIONS and ANSWERS

1. What is your area of specialization?
   
   
2. Is there a specific age that you work with?
   
   
3. How can I know for sure whether my family could benefit from Intensive Family-Centered Regulatory Therapy?
   
   
4. Do you also use traditional therapy methods?  How many families have you worked with using Family-Centered Regulatory Therapy?
   
   
5. Were there any families that were unsuccessful?
   
   
6. What is the difference between your Intensive Family-Centered Regulatory Therapy and some of the other intensive programs offered across the country?
   
   
7. How long does the intensive last?  Will we need to take time off work or set aside a certain amount of time after the intensive to adjust to this new approach to parenting?
   
   
8. Why do you do your work in the family's home rather than in your office?
   
   
9. Do you work with the extended family or just with the immediate family?
   
   
10. I understand that my stress affects my child, but you talk so much about the parents dysregulation, that it almost sounds like I am the cause of my child's problems, rather than the problems being caused by the trauma during the child's early life.  Am I misunderstanding this?
    
    
11. You stress the importance of working with the parents first.  What if my spouse and I don't have any significant issues to deal with?  Is this the wrong therapy for us?
    
    
12. Using "containment" in therapy sounds both difficult and invasive.  It seems much more suitable to working with a younger child.  I've heard you even work with adults using "containment."   It sounds especially awkward between adults.  Is it difficult at first?  Does it get easier?  How do most people respond to it? 
    
    
13. Besides extreme rage, my child struggles with learning disabilities and has trouble getting along with friends.  Can your therapy help with these or other problems as well?
    
    
14. What if my child is incorrectly diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)?  What if my child actually has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Bipolar Disorder or Attention Deficit Disorder?  Will the intensive be rendered useless to these or other types of brain dysfunction?  Do I need to be sure of my child's RAD diagnosis before attempting an intensive?
    
    
15. How does medication affect your type of therapy?  Would it be best if my child were off all medications during the intensive?
    
    
16. My hope is that my child can be off all medications once we address his problems through your Intensive Family-Centered Regulatory Therapy and Family-Centered Regulatory Parenting.  Am I being too optimistic?
    
    
17. I understand that you teach how to deal with stress as it occurs.  What about stress that occurs when I am not with my child to address it?  Will my child be able to address it on his own?
    
    
18. Will you teach me what to do if my child misbehaves in public?
    
    
19. What type of follow-up support will we need after the intensive and how will that be provided?
    
    
20. What changes should we expect to see immediately after the intensive, and then what gradual changes after that, and in what time frame?

 Final Word:      The bottom line is there are hundreds of different approaches to treating emotional and behavioral disruptions. On average the families I have worked with have tried other forms of therapy for an average of eight years before seeking out my service. Also, having spent sometimes $20,000 or more.  I encourage you to seek out the treatment which seems to fit your family and their needs. If and when you decide to work with me, be committed, prepared, and open to the healing process.