What treatments are available for behavioural disorders?
Treatments for behavioural disorders focus mainly on:
- behavioural treatments
- medications
Behavioural treatment
There are two main types of behavioural treatment: parent management training and psychotherapy.
Parent management training has been shown to work very well for children and teens with behavioural disorders. It is most effective when started early in childhood or the pre-teen years, but it is never too late to change the way you handle your child or teen's behaviour. In many cases, you can access parent management training through a children's mental health agency, a parenting group or a private therapist.
Individual therapy or family therapy can also be effective in helping to manage behavioural disorders. Therapy can help change how a family functions and support parents and children or teens with figuring out the causes of challenging behaviour and talking about other ways of handling them.
Sometimes more intensive behavioural treatment is required. School-based treatment programs or residential therapy programs can be effective for some children or teens.
Medications for behavioural disorders
Medication treatment for behavioural disorders is targeted towards treating underlying or co-occurring disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression or anxiety.