Toddlers, Preschoolers, & Young Children
Therapy & Diagnostic Evaluation
Psychotherapy for Young Children
Maybe your child is having a lot of tantrums, and it’s hard to figure out why they’re getting so upset.
Your child might be feeling scared or weary about things that used to go smoothly—like going to daycare, talking to people, or trying new things.
Maybe you’re dreading the next call from your child’s school, because this might be the time they tell you your child can’t come back to the program.
Or it might feel like all the parenting strategies you’ve tried just don’t seem to work for your child, and you’re finding yourself raising your voice more than you’d like.
Therapy can help.
My approach
Psychotherapy for young children is highly individualized based on the presenting problem. I typically begin with a thorough diagnostic assessment to better understand your child's history, symptoms and development, and relationships with caregivers. Treatment might focus on helping young children and their caregivers to improve their relationship, improve coping skills, reduce tantrums or other mental health symptoms, and/or reduce parenting stress. Sessions might involve teaching you and your child a calming strategy, watching you play together and providing guidance about strategies to try, or talking one-on-one with a parent to reflect on and understand a challenging interaction that happened recently. I use strategies from multiple evidence-based treatment models, including Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP), Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), Parent Management Training (PMT), Strong Roots, Circle of Security, Infant Mental Health (IMH), and psychodynamic play therapy. For some families, I meet with children and parents together, and other families I work primarily with the parent(s) alone. See here for more information about parenting support with Dr. Julian.
For those local to Ann Arbor, MI, in person sessions are available.
For those who prefer, or those who live elsewhere in Michigan, telehealth appointments are available—and can be a very effective (and convenient!) way to do therapy for young children!
Have questions about therapy for your child? Reach out to Dr. Julian here:
Diagnostic and Developmental Evaluation for Young Children (Ages 0-8)
Do you have a child who is especially tricky to figure out? They might have a lot of tantrums, be set in their ways, or have different behavior at home and at school.
Maybe your child has already tried therapy, and therapy just hasn’t helped.
Maybe you’re not sure if your child needs therapy, or if they might be having developmental delays.
Or something stressful or scary might have happened in your family, and you’re wondering if they have been affected by their experience.
An evaluation can help untangle all the factors that affect how your child behaves and feels — their development, mental health, relationships, and experiences— so you can move forward with a clearer understanding of your child and how to support them.
At the end of an evaluation, you’ll walk away with a detailed report, and a list of recommendations tailored to your child and family. We’ll talk about what support services your child might benefit from, parenting strategies that can be helpful with your child, and parenting books and children’s books that might speak to your family’s specific challenges.
Please note that while I do routinely screen for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), I do not provide formal ASD testing. If concern for ASD is raised during your child's assessment, I will refer you to another clinic for an autism evaluation.
Would you like to take the next step? For a free 20-minute consultation call with Dr. Julian, reach out here:
What to expect in an evaluation?
I will send you paperwork to complete before the first appointment. The first appointment will be for parents only, and you will be asked a lot of questions about your child’s history, symptoms, and development. Next, I’ll send you a few extra questionnaires, tailored to the specific issues that your child is struggling with.
The next appointment will be together with your child. You and your child will be asked to play together at home, while I watch by video. I’ll guide you through a few different activities to do together, and if your child is verbal, I’ll spend some time talking with your child, too.
If your child is in school or daycare, I’ll interview their teacher(s) about how your child is doing in their care, and I’ll send some questionnaires to the teacher(s) as well. If your child has worked with another therapist recently, I will interview them as well.
Some families may have an additional parent interview or child play session (e.g., with a sibling or another caregiver) if needed.
Once all the information is gathered, we’ll schedule a feedback session. In this session, we’ll talk about how to understand your child’s feelings and behavior in the context of their development, relationships, mental health, and past experiences. We’ll talk about any diagnoses that your child has, and why other diagnoses may not fit. We’ll talk about parenting strategies, support services, and other resources that are a good fit for your family’s specific situation.
After the evaluation, you may continue on in therapy with me or another therapist, or you might find that an assessment is all your family needs right now.