Program Description
Child behavior problems are among the most common mental health disorders in childhood, with 7% to 25% prevalence, depending on the population surveyed. Yet many caregivers remain challenged on how to manage these behaviors and providers struggle to empower parents to make needed change. All children experience behavioral problems at times, with certain transition periods (eg, “terrible twos,” adolescence) in which behavior problems tend to escalate. Typical 2-year-olds exhibit outright defiance, aggression, and anger tantrums that are developmentally appropriate as they are attempting to establish autonomy, test limits, and achieve mastery of their environment.
To establish a clinically significant problem, a clinician must look for a pattern or cluster of symptoms that has been troublesome for some time, is relatively severe, and is in some way impeding the child’s functioning (eg, child getting expelled from preschool). After children are identified as needing further treatment, it is crucial to keep the caregiver involved and in charge of the process. In order to promote optimal child outcomes, we must focus on promoting optimal parenting styles and parent-child interactions.
This presentation will discuss how to address these problem behaviors with caregivers in both office and community settings through the developing a positive relationship through play and learning the power of positive reinforcement and ignoring.
Program Objectives :
Upon completion of this workshop, participants should be able to:
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Explain when a child with behavior problems needs a mental health evaluation
 Identify risk factors for development of a behavior disorder;
Describe the stages of moral, cognitive, and emotional development for 2-10 year olds;
 List the techniques to use in work with their children and their caregivers.
Target Audience
Mental health professionals or any other human service professional interested in this topic.
Contact Hours
3.0 contact hours
Program Agenda
Available upon request.
Faculty
Becca E. Edwards-Powell, MSW, LCSW is currently the Training Director and DBT
Program at Carolina Outreach, LLC., where she trains and supervises clinical staff in
CBT and DBT, provides case consultation, and clinical quality management. She is

intensively trained in DBT through the Behavioral Tech and participates in an ongoing
Intensive team. She oversees all DBT services, consultation teams, and development for
40 therapists and over 100 clients participating in DBT. She is also nationally certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Previously, she worked as an intensive in-home specialist, client services director at the Orange County Rape Crisis
Center, and support group coordinator at the Family Violence Prevention Center.