From Chaos to Clarity: Understanding and Treating ADHD, Mood, Anxiety, and Behavioral Disorders from Childhood through the Tr

Course overview

Adults often treat children and adolescents as "mini adults," expecting immediate understanding, compliance, and performance. Their brains, emotions, and attachment systems are still developing from childhood through the transition to adulthood, and their behaviors frequently serve as forms of communication rather than intentional resistance or manipulation. This workshop equips psychologists, licensed mental health professionals, medical personnel, and ministry leaders to understand how cognitive, emotional, and relational development shapes behavior and clinical presentation. Participants will be introduced to the practical STOP-LOOK-LISTEN UP framework to help participants work with parents to pause reactivity, assess meaning, and respond with compassion. Participants will examine an overview of how conditions such as ADHD, ODD, DMDD, anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder emerge within this developmental context, highlighting distinguishing features and common comorbidities. At the end of the session, participants will focus on treatment planning, presenting faith-informed for willing Christian clients, evidence-based strategies that honor the parent-child relationship, strengthen the therapeutic alliance, and incorporate skills training, school collaboration, and medical consultation when appropriate. Participants will gain actionable strategies for developmentally informed, ethically grounded, and faith-sensitive clinical practice.