Oppositional Defiance or Faulty Neuroception: Disruptive Behaviors through the Lens of the Polyvagal Theory

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Mona Delahooke, PhD Related seminars and products

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Mona Delahooke, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist with more than 25 years of experience caring for children, teenagers, and their families.

Dr. Delahooke holds the highest level of endorsement in the field of infant and toddler mental health in California, as a Reflective Practice Mentor (RPM). With a special focus on early childhood development, she is a senior faculty member of the Profectum Foundation, an organization dedicated to advancing our understanding and support of neurodiverse children, adolescents and adults. She trains clinicians in the Los Angeles Department of Mental Health (DMH) as an independent contractor. Currently in private practice in Los Angeles, California, Dr. Delahooke consults with parents, preschools, regional centers, public agencies, and school districts in the areas of screening, assessment, intervention and support for families, infants, toddlers and children. She is the author of Social and Emotional Development in Early Intervention (PESI, 2017), and the award-winning Beyond Behaviors: Using Brain Science to Understand and Solve Children’s Behavioral Challenges,(PESI, 2019), which describes a contemporary, neurodevelopmental approach useful for all childhood professionals.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Mona Delahooke maintains a private practice. She is a senior faculty member of the Profectum Foundation. Dr. Delahooke receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc.
Non-financial: Mona Delahooke has no relevant non-financial relationship to disclose.

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Objectives

1. Categorize specific behaviours as they relate to each of the three basic pathways of the autonomic nervous system (ANS).
2. Utilize neuroception-informed interventions, including physiological co-regulation and interpersonal engagement, to treat oppositional behaviour. 
3. Appraise the efficacy of integrating the Polyvagal Theory into “behaviour management” programs. 

Outline

Behavior Challenges:  Intentional Choice or Stress Response?

• What the Polyvagal Theory brings to the “behaviour management” table
• The autonomic nervous system (ANS)
• Neuroception:  How children’s brains perceive safety and stress (and what that means for behaviour)
• Is ODD a behaviour disorder, or a nervous system looking for relational safety?

Clinical Strategies for Building Relational Safety and Security

• Getting started:  Matching a given behaviour to corresponding ANS pathway
• Discerning between an intentional behaviour and a stress response
• Co-regulation, warmth and interpersonal engagement
• How to reach the “unreachable” kids and teens
• What about behaviour contracts and incentive plans?

Target Audience

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Psychotherapists
• Therapists
• Marriage and Family Therapists
• Case Managers
• Speech Language Pathologists
• Occupational Therapists
• Nurses
• School Guidance Counselors
• School Social Workers
• School Psychologists
• School Administrators
• Teachers
• Special Education Teachers
• School-based Clinicians
• Educational Paraprofessionals
• Other Helping Professionals that work with children

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