Child & Youth Treatment, Parenting Support

Individual

At Cornerstone, we offer individual treatment services for children/youth and parenting support that incorporate a variety of scientifically-based approaches. Read below the different approaches we use, along with the challenges we treat.

  • Our psychologists draw from a variety of approaches including:

    • Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), and Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE)

    • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), and Mindfulness

    • Comprehensive Behavioural Intervention for Tics (CBIT)/Habit Reversal Therapy (HRT)

    • Motivational Interviewing (MI)

    • Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) and Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT)

    • Other evidence-based approaches

    Please note we do not have psychologists at this time who specialize in:

    • Couples counselling/marital conflict

    • Managing difficult separations/divorce

    • Effective coparenting after separation

    • Eating disorders other than ARFID

    At Cornerstone, we believe in providing neurodivergent-affirming care. A number of our psychologists are experienced in individualizing treatment for neurodivergent clients with low support needs (sometimes termed “high functioning”) and several of our therapy groups are suitable for this population. However, our team does not currently have the capacity to accept new therapy clients with high support needs (sometimes termed “low functioning”) related to a neurodevelopmental condition (e.g., autism, intellectual/developmental disability). For these services, we recommend connecting with providers who have specific training, experience and current capacity to provide more specialized and/or intensive care in order to best meet your child’s unique needs. The following resources may help you connect with a suitable clinician:

    Registry of Autism Service Providers

    Autism Support Network

    BC Psychological Association

  • We provide evidence-based treatment for a wide range of child, adolescent, and family challenges, including:

    • Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

    • Anxiety and related concerns

    • Behaviour concerns

    • Body-focused repetitive behaviours (e.g., hair pulling, skin picking)

    • Depression, low mood, and self-esteem concerns

    • Gender identity exploration

    • Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and related symptoms

    • Pain and symptom management (including somatization)

    • Parenting challenges

    • Picky eating, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID)

    • Challenges related to medical concerns (e.g., treatment adherence, needle phobia)

    • School avoidance, school refusal

    • Selective mutism

    • Sleep difficulties

    • Stressful life events, traumatic experiences

    • Tics/Tourette syndrome

    • Toileting concerns (e.g., encopresis/soiling, enuresis/bed-wetting)

    At Cornerstone, we believe in providing neurodivergent-affirming care. A number of our psychologists are experienced in individualizing treatment for neurodivergent clients with low support needs (sometimes termed “high functioning”) and several of our therapy groups are suitable for this population. However, our team does not currently have the capacity to accept new therapy clients with high support needs (sometimes termed “low functioning”) related to a neurodevelopmental condition (e.g., autism, intellectual/developmental disability). For these services, we recommend connecting with providers who have specific training, experience and current capacity to provide more specialized and/or intensive care in order to best meet your child’s unique needs. The following resources may help you connect with a suitable clinician:

    Registry of Autism Service Providers

    Autism Support Network

    BC Psychological Association

Group Therapy

Group therapy is an affordable and effective way to receive evidence-based treatment for a variety of concerns. While individual treatment may be needed in some cases, group treatment may offer many additional benefits.

Intensives

There is increasing evidence that intensive treatment is an effective approach for many presenting concerns. Intensive treatment employs much longer sessions concentrated into a week, weekend, or a single day.

    • Caregivers with jobs where it is difficult to take time off during the week, but can commit to a weekend

    • Teens with a busy academic and extracurricular schedule who can commit to shorter treatment programs over the summer or during school breaks

    • Children and youth who are significantly impaired by their symptoms (e.g., unable to attend school) and need to make gains quickly

    • Families who live in areas outside the lower mainland who may struggle to find evidence-based care and can temporarily travel to Vancouver for services.

    • Children and youth who have struggled to benefit from a standard treatment schedule may find that an intensive approach can jumpstart their progress.

  • We currently offer the following intensive group treatments:

Workshops

An important aspect of psychological treatment is learning scientific information to better understand presenting concerns and management strategies to cope with symptoms.

  • Our psychoeducational workshops help our clients :

    • Access accurate, up-to-date scientific information about a specific topic

    • Learn practical, effective strategies and coping tools

    • Identify science-based, practical resources

    • Receive guidance regarding treatment options and next steps

    • Experience a supportive learning atmosphere

  • We regularly offer the following virtual workshops for parents and youth: