The Chakra Garden

Center for Mind/Body Healing

Press Release February 16, 2007

Parent Education Program: Behavioral Management for Children diagnosed with Psychological and Neurobiological Disorders such as, ADHD, Bi-Polar Disorder, Rage, Anxiety & Depression

Albany, February 14, 2007: Mary E. Qualters, LCSW and Owner of The Chakra Garden today announced a new program for parents who wish to learn strategies to deescalate their children during disruptive behavioral episodes, especially problems escalating anxiety and anger.

More and more children today are being diagnosed with psychological and neurolobiological disorders such as ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, Oppositional – Defiant Disorder, Anxiety and/or Depression. Healthy emotional development of these children is imperative to their overall health, as well as their parents’ ability to cope effectively and peacefully.

In efforts to give these children the best care possible, Mary Qualters believes that the parent’s role is key in behavioral management. Qualters states, “Parenting a child who is chronically defiant can be exhausting and stressful. This program seeks to provide parents with effective listening and problem solving tools and to help them to remain calm when their child is raging, thus in turn, calming the child.”

Qualters identifies two main contributing factors as to why these children have difficulty focusing, completing simple tasks, and are easily triggered into anger. The complex neurochemical dysregualtion of the brain and body combined with a child’s perceived environmental stressors of family, home, school and friends often creates a feeling of being unable to cope. Because children ARE their behavior, their acting-out tells us of their pain and their BEHAVIOR is their cry for help.

This interactive Program educates parents on the basic science behind their child’s diagnosis and engages them in dialogue to identify their child’s disruptive behavior triggers and patterns. The top strategies to deescalate children are:

Stop. Relax. Only respond to a child’s behavior is you are calm on a scale of 1 – 10, being a 5 or less.
Remove “NO” from your vocabulary, practicing alternative language to redirect the child.
Practice “Mirroring and Reflecting” what the child is saying and feeling.

Behavioral Management for Children Parent Training Program is offered the last Monday of each month at The Chakra Garden, Center for Mind/Body Healing from 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Cost is $30 per person. To register call 518.456.1071 or email info@thechakragarden.com

For over 16 years as a LCSW, Mary E. Qualters has served the Capital District as Director of the Grieving Children’s Program at Haven of Schenectady, Critical Incident and Crisis Consultant to local school districts, Special Education Social Worker for Tamarac and Bethlehem School Districts, and as a Psychotherapist to children and their families in private practice focusing on behavior management.

Rooted in traditional psychotherapy, her counseling practice offers a holistic approach based on mind/body medicine. She provides insurance-based individual and family counseling, as well as state-of-the art therapeutic techniques such as, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), TFT (Thought Field Therapy), and Tapas Acupressure Technique. These techniques are designed to relieve emotional trauma, phobias, depression, and anxiety.

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