Manhattan Psychology Group

Comprehensive Psychological, Behavioral & Educational Services in NYC for Children, Adolescents & Adults

 

— TeleHealth Services Available! —
Call 646-450-6210 to Schedule a Consultation

  • Home
  • About MPG
    • Mission & Vision
    • Staff
    • Jobs
  • Child & Adolescent
    • Problems We Treat
      • Anger Management
      • Anxiety Disorders
      • Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)
      • Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
      • Bipolar Disorder
      • Chronic Pain
      • Depression
      • Executive Functioning Problems
      • Relationship Difficulties, Family Conflict, Separation & Divorce
      • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
      • Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
      • School Refusal
      • Sleeping Problems
      • Social Communication Pragmatic Disorder
      • Social Skills Problems
      • Tics / Tourette’s / Compulsive Behaviors
      • Toilet Training Problems
      • Trauma / PTSD / Abuse
    • Testing
      • Neuropsychological Testing
    • Treatment Services
      • Academic Tutoring, SEIT, SETTS
      • Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Therapy for Children
      • Behavioral Parent Management Training (PMT) (Kids 8+)
      • Behavioral Tutoring & Homework Help
      • Biofeedback Therapy
      • Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
      • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Treatment for Chronic Pain
      • Early Intervention Services (Private)
      • Executive Function Training & Coaching
      • Family Therapy
      • Habit Reversal Training (HRT) & Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics
      • In-Home Therapy & Behavior Plans
      • Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) (Ages 2-7)
      • Parent Child Interaction Therapy-Toddlers (PCIT-T) (Ages 12-24 months)
      • Play Therapy
      • Return-to-School Safety Evaluations
      • School-Based Shadow Program
      • School & Teacher Consultations
      • Selective Mutism Treatment
      • Social Skills Training Groups
      • Summer Camp – Big Apple Day Program
      • Teacher Child Interaction Training (TCIT)
      • The “Coping Cat” Anxiety Program
  • Adults & Couples
    • Problems We Treat
      • Abuse / Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
      • Anger & Stress Problems
      • Anxiety Disorders
      • Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)
      • Depression & Bipolar
      • Executive Functioning Problems
      • Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) Concerns
      • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
      • Relationships, Divorce & Separation
      • Tics, Tourette’s & Trichotillomania
      • Workplace Issues
    • Treatment Services
      • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
      • Couples Therapy & Marriage Counseling
      • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
      • Executive Function Training
      • Habit Reversal Training (HRT)
      • Holistic Mental Health Consulting
      • Life Coaching
      • Mindfulness Training
      • Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
      • Women’s Health Consulting
      • Stress & Anger Management
      • Workplace & Travel Consulting
    • About Dr. Dardashti
  • Getting Started
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Workshops / Press / Media
    • Products
    • Pay by Credit Card or Zelle
    • FAQ
  • Contact Us
    • Professional Email Sign-Up

Selective Mutism Treatment for Children & Adolescents

Selective mutism (SM) is an anxiety disorder that renders children speechless in school and community situations, while their speaking is within normal limits in their homes (provided only the parents and siblings are present). Untreated, this condition prohibits children from participating in education settings in a typical manner, leaves their educators unable to accurately gauge their progress and may result in abnormal or stunted social relationships with peers.

The treatment of SM that we use at our practice, is called PCIT-SM, which is based off of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT). PCIT is an empirically supported intervention developed for young children with emotional and behavioral disorders. When adapted for intervention with children with anxiety disorders, the skills used in PCIT have been found to be very effective in building children’s skills for talking in challenging situations and for appropriate social engagement. PCIT-SM is a behaviorally based treatment and provides the child with many opportunities to practice being “brave.”

We treat both children and adolescents with SM, and like other disorders, treatment varies for each individual. Typically, we focus first on training the parents on the PCIT-SM skills that we have found to be very effective, and then provide live in-vivo coaching. Our goal is to help our parents learn these skills effectively, so that they can target verbalizations when they are alone with their child in the community. We have found that by providing live, in the moment feedback, our parents learn the skills quicker and more effectively. Throughout treatment, we systematically and gradually increase the difficulty of the task. For example, we start with the child and parent alone in the room and coach the parents first to help their child become verbal. Eventually, we begin to slowly “fade” ourselves into the office, first with the parent and the child, and then eventually with the child alone.

Typically, after the first session, we will begin collaborating with the school to determine a school-based intervention. Given that most children with SM are most impaired in the school setting, we put a lot of our time and resources into collaborating with the school. Our collaboration usually includes a school training, consultation calls with the school, and in many instances, sessions that actually take place in the school setting. Treatment with children with SM requires flexibility and creativity. While some of our sessions take place in the office, the majority of our sessions may take place in the community. Our clinicians will go to the child’s school and home community to work with them in places where they struggle the most.

SM treatment is an active process, and will include home practicing of skills outside the sessions. Our parents are extremely involved in treatment and will learn to be effective at helping their children verbalize in places where they are currently non-verbal.

Recommended Providers

  • Chelsey Rosen, PsyD
  • Margaret Areizaga, PsyD

Schedule a Consultation


Call: 646-450-6210

Child/Adol Treatment Services

Recent News

  • The Effects of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for Toddlers (PCIT-T) on Child Functioning and Parental Well-Being
  • Validation: The Parenting Tool that Helps Kids Learn Emotion Regulation Skills
  • Treating Children with Anxiety: A Case Presentation using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with a 12 year old girl
  • Early Developmental Milestones: What to Look For and How You Can Help Your Child Grow

Upper West Side Office

107 West 82nd St, LL Suite P101
(Corner of Columbus Ave)
New York, NY 10024

DOWNLOAD MPG COLOR FLYER© Copyright 2021 Manhattan Psychology Group, PC · All Rights ReservedDOWNLOAD MPG B/W FLYER

1