Slow Down Psychology
Therapy for angry kids and the people who raise them
The Magic + Science:
My Approach to
Therapy for Angry Kids
So what am I, some magical angry-child fixer? Not exactly.
One of my core beliefs is that my clients—your child, you, and your family—are not broken. There is nothing to fix. But there is a way forward.​Your gut might be telling you that we’re a good fit, but you need to know how this works.
If you’re looking for a child psychologist who specializes in therapy for explosive children, defiant behavior, and aggressive outbursts, rest easy—I work within the frameworks of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).​
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But therapy isn’t just a set of techniques.
It’s about transformation.
At its core, my approach is playful, person-centered, family-systems-oriented, and attachment-based.
Every treatment plan is unique, but my work is always guided by a few core beliefs:
Symptoms tell us what’s happening today.
Patterns tell us what might happen over the next few years.
I get it. Your child keeps repeating the same exhausting behaviors—punching walls, refusing homework, screaming, staying up all night. It’s like Groundhog Day, and as a parent, it’s overwhelming and disheartening.
You just want it to stop. I do too.
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AND—focusing only on symptoms is like treating a fever without addressing the underlying infection. The real work in child therapy is understanding the patterns that fuel these behaviors.
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Yes, your treatment plan will include concrete goals to reduce symptoms. But for every symptom we target, we’ll also examine the larger family dynamics at play. When we shift these patterns, multiple changes happen at once—and they stick long after therapy ends.​​
Because here’s the thing:
I’m not interested in keeping you in therapy forever. My goal is that when we celebrate your therapy graduation, you and your child walk away with a deeper understanding of yourselves and each other—so that no matter what life throws at you, you can handle it.
There is more magic in transforming families than in reducing problem behaviors.​
If you’re looking for behavior charts, positive reinforcement plans, or step-by-step discipline strategies, I may not be the best fit. It’s not that those tools never work—they’re just not what I do best.
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Instead, my work is about healing the root causes of ongoing behavior struggles. This is where real, lasting transformation happens.
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Research shows that the most effective way to support an angry, defiant, or anxious child is through a family system approach, which includes dyadic therapy and parent coaching. That’s why I often require parents to actively participate in therapy, whether by joining their child’s sessions or attending separate parent-focused sessions.
Strong-Willed Kids Need Strong, Supported Parents
So often, my most strong-willed, emotionally intense clients are wrestling with two impossible pressures:
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The expectation to be the “ideal” child—polite, obedient, compliant.
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The internalized belief that they are inherently bad—a liar, a bully, lazy, unmotivated, “too much,” and sometimes a villain.
It’s exhausting.
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Now add in the relentless pace of modern life. Families are stretched thin, doing their best to keep up with work, school, activities, and the endless demands of raising kids in today’s world. Eventually, something breaks down, and it often looks like tantrums, meltdowns, or explosive anger.
The truth is...
Human development doesn’t move at the speed of modern life. Kids who are constantly rushed often act impulsively at best, aggressively at worst.
The slowing down process is essential—not just for the child, but for parents too.
Your child is not broken, and I am not their fixer.
You may have heard the term neurodiversity affirming therapy and wondered what it really means in my practice. Here’s my answer:
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A diagnosis is not a disease to be cured. My job as a child psychologist for angry kids is not to make your child appear more “normal.”
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When I create a therapy treatment plan, I don’t ask, "What’s wrong with this child?" Instead, I ask, "Where is this child suffering?"
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Traditional therapy often focuses on symptom elimination—but when that’s the sole focus, it’s easy to miss the bigger picture. Instead, I take a collaborative, child-centered approach to therapy that helps both kids and their families:
✅ Understand the root causes of behavioral struggles
✅ Strengthen emotional regulation skills
✅ Repair and deepen parent-child relationships
✅ Create lasting change that goes beyond “fixing” symptoms​​
Because at the end of the day, therapy is not about “fixing” your child’s problem behaviors. It’s about creating the conditions for real, lasting change—so your child and your family can thrive today, tomorrow, and for years to come.
