Children and adolescents with oppositional and defiant behavior (ODD) are often referred to treatment because of extreme emotional or behavior problems – aggression, disrespect, skipping school, self-harm, suicide, running away – and not the underlying trauma and unhealthy family dynamics that are the real cause of the problem.
Parents will come into your treatment with the attitude of “just fix my kid.”
Individual therapy won’t work well with kids with ODD because relapse will occur as soon as the child or adolescent returns to the same unhealthy patterns in the family environment.
As a result, family trauma treatment with the entire family is the most effective approach.
Our research at the Family Trauma Institute found that Oppositional Defiant kids are defiant because of two core family systems problems. We call it the Perfect Storm:
- An Upside Down Hierarchy
- Interactional Trauma
In this short clip, Dr. Sells illustrates and explains the first cause: An Upside Down Hierarchy.
You will discover the differences between a Soft and Hard Side of Hierarchy and the Two Questions to ask your parents to determine whether or not an upside-down hierarchy exists.
