Medications as Part of an SM Treatment Plan: Who? What? When? Why? How? How long?

Medications as Part of an SM Treatment Plan: Who? What? When? Why? How? How long?
Recorded Wednesday, May 5, 2021
Speaker: Steven Kurtz, PhD, ABPP
This webinar is geared toward parents and caretakers.

Description: The decision to try adding medicine to a treatment plan for your child with SM is often a very agonizing one. No parent ever wakes up and says, “Gee, I’d love to give my young child a psychotropic medication today.” Rather you wrestle with the decision. Do we need it? Will there be side effects? Will it hurt my child in the long run? Will it change their personality? How long will they need to be on it? These and other questions weigh heavily as you see your child’s SM not improving enough with the behavioral work you may already be doing. Join SMA Board Member and SM expert Dr. Steven Kurtz, noted child psychologist, as he helps us think through these and other important questions: Which children? When in the course of treatment? How do you start and explain to the child? What are the pros and potential cons? What does the research tell us?

Speaker: Steven Kurtz, PhD, ABPP is the President of Kurtz Psychology Consulting PC, a NYC-based mental health group serving the emotional and behavioral needs of young children. He specializes in assessing and treating externalizing behaviors, such as ADHD and oppositionality, as well as severe anxiety behaviors, such selective mutism and social phobia. He is a Global Trainer in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), and a dedicated advocate for children with special needs. His team has done pioneering work in Teacher-Child Interaction Treatment (TCIT) bringing behavioral coaching for teachers to a new level of effectiveness. Dr. Kurtz is the developer of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy Adapted for Selective Mutism (PCIT-SM), an empirically supported therapy for selective mutism. He also created the renowned Mighty Mouth and Brave Buddies SM intensive treatment programs. An expert commentator, he has appeared on numerous programs addressing child mental health, including NBC's Today, CBS's The Early Show and PBS's Keeping Kids Healthy and was featured in the Canadian Broadcasting Company's ADD & Lovin' It. He is a Board Certified Diplomate in Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology and volunteers time in the leadership of numerous organizations such as the Selective Mutism Association.

This webinar is brought to you by the Selective Mutism Association and was made possible by a generous grant from the Gordon and Marilyn Macklin Foundation, Inc.