Behavioral Parent Training: Helping Families of Children with Defiant Behaviors

Child disruptive behavior problems are one of the most common reasons that children are referred for mental health services. These behavior problems include being defiant with adults, aggression, tantrums, extreme testing of boundaries, attention-seeking, and rule breaking. Some common diagnoses for children with disruptive behaviors are Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder. The most effective intervention for these issues is Behavioral Parent Training (aka Parent Management Training or simply “parent training”) which works with caregivers to shape the environment of children with these behaviors to reduce their disruptive behaviors.