Arlington Psychological Services offers a comprehensive range of psychological, psycho-educational and consulting services. We believe that Arlington Psychological Services offers a unique blend of professional competence and personal attention. You will notice the difference.
Our therapists have expertise in evaluating and working with children. We are dedicated to helping children acquire the personal and interpersonal skills they need to be successful. We place particular emphasis on coordinating the efforts of school support systems and on helping mothers and fathers meet their parenting challenges effectively.
Growing into adulthood presents unique challenges. Peer pressure, under-achievement, substance abuse, depression, behavioral problems and sexuality are common concerns. Our staff is experienced and sensitive to the dilemmas faced by adolescents and their families. We work collaboratively with individual adolescents and with their families to develop better communication, functional family structures and reality-based solutions to their problems.
Our staff is prepared to assist individuals who present with a wide range of concerns. These include anxiety, depression, stress, relational transitions and grief. Our approach is client specific in that we work with each individual to clarify his or her goals. We then identify and modify those patterns of thinking and relating which get in the way of achieving those goals. We help individuals build confidence and self-esteem through making and taking responsibility for their decisions.
Relationships are complex, dynamic and often stressful. As individuals and circumstances change, continuing to grow together represents a significant challenge. At APS, our therapists are experienced in helping couples develop authentic and constructive ways of relating which enable them to reach meaningful and realistic solutions to their concerns. We are also skilled in assisting couples to disengage, when this is their decision, in ways which are respectful and protective of family well-being. Our marriage and family therapists (MFTs) are highly-trained mental health professionals who bring a family-oriented perspective to health care.
It is through positive family experiences and interactions that children are most likely to acquire the internal structure and self-esteem that enables them to lead constructive and meaningful lives. We are committed to working actively with families to improve and facilitate communication and understanding. The challenges parents face are huge and often emotionally draining, particularly at a time when they are themselves facing so many competing demands and when the risks for their children are great. We are also, therefore, committed to helping parents reach agreement on how to best intervene with and relate to their children and adolescents.
T.I.P.S., our Teen’s Inter-Personal Skills Group, is for adolescents with peer difficulties who show signs and symptoms of Anxiety, Depression, Asperger’s, Social Disorders, including Mild-Autism and other social worries. This includes extreme shyness, as well as difficulties in understanding social-cues, developing lasting friendships, being part of a team, or even just hanging out! Through games, discussions, videos, and activities, our teens make friends, understand gestures, read body language, deal with bullies, make conversation, and learn how to tackle teen dilemmas. Group leaders are seasoned in social skills training
F.O.C.U.S., our Freeing Our Creativity and Underlying Strengths group, is for elementary aged boys and girls, who struggle with paying attention, sitting still, focusing, and controlling impulses. This includes social difficulties, such as making friends, doing school work and having playdates, as well as staying organized and being part of a team. Our group is designed to build lasting relationships, sharpen the focus, improve flexible thinking, and cultivate your child’s inner strengths. Group leaders are ADD and ADHD trained. They specialize in school planning and social work, as well as developing social skills, working to build on your child’s natural creativity and inner strength!
Teens’ Group for Girls provides relaxation training and stress reduction techniques. Members learn about anxiety, stress, worry, and how to decrease these thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Topics may include discussing social anxiety, shyness, depression, intrusive/unwanted thoughts and feelings, as well as fears and phobias. Members build relationships and gain social confidence, find support and guidance, as well as uplift their inner- strength.
Group Details
Issues: Generalized Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Peer Relationships, Social
Anxiety, Bully Problems/Assertiveness, Women’s Issues, Depression
Treatment Orientation: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT); Peer Support
Age: Adolescents / Teenagers (13 to 19)
Self-Esteem Group is for adolescent girls who struggle with identifying and acknowledging their own strengths and positive qualities, as well as navigating the tough friendship issues that tend to arise in junior high and high school. This group aims to assist these teens in developing healthy ways to cope with negative emotions like anxiety and depression and/or situations like bullying. Through discussions, games, and psychoeducational activities, our teens can learn how to work through these difficult emotions and situations, find comfort in knowing that others are experiencing similar things, and begin to recognize and acknowledge their own self-worth
To live is to experience stress. The stress response can be adaptive in dangerous or challenging situations. Often, however, stress is self-generated and debilitating. APS therapists are skilled in helping individuals identify unhealthy responses and develop new and more successful ways of responding. Clients are assisted in understanding and accepting what is and what is not within their control and learning strategies for stress prevention and coping.
Arlington Psychological Services has a long history of working collaboratively with local schools. We make our psychological services available to schools to promote the mental health and educational interests of students. Experienced staff members often speak to teacher and parent groups. Senior clinicians frequently serve as external consultants to school social-workers, psychologists and counselors. We also assist with school-based need assessment, program development, group problem-solving and systematic planning. APS has the resources to assist teachers, student services professionals, and administrators in meeting the multi-dimensional challenges they face.