Our practice is guided by a scientist practitioner approach.

We are committed to a philosophy of using treatment approaches that are grounded in scientific evidence, using scientific approaches to track and monitor progress, and using what is learned during treatment to inform the larger scientific community.

We have partnered with Dr. Brendan Rich, Associate Professor at the Catholic University of America (CUA), since 2009 to conduct several research studies examining how our group model, the Resilience Builder Program ®, impacts children’s social skills, resilience, and self-regulation. We hope that data collected can help us improve our treatment and contribute to psychological science to help children and families on a larger scale.

Children and parents who enroll in our Resilience Builder Program ® and meet the inclusion criteria will be asked to participate on a voluntary basis. For those who agree to participate, parents and children will be asked to complete measures and children may be asked to complete a computer task.

Children in our Resilience Builder Program ® with ADHD symptoms who meet our inclusion criteria may also be invited to join a neuroimaging study at the National Human Genome Research Institute in collaboration with Philip Shaw, Ph.D., examining potential changes in the brain following participation in the Resilience Builder Program ®.

We are also collaborating with the Washington Jesuit Academy and Monument Academy to evaluate the use of the Resilience Builder Program ® within schools.

On May 23, 2018, we were featured on NPR's "All Things Considered": To Teach Kids To Handle Tough Emotions, Some Schools Take Time Out For Group Therapy. To learn more, please click here.

Preliminary findings—check back for more results:

Alvord, M. A, Rich, B. A., & Berghorst, L. (2014). Developing social competence through a resilience model. In S. Prince-Embury (Ed.). Resilience Interventions for Youth in Diverse Populations. New York: Springer Books, 3: 118. doi:10.4172/2329-9525.1000118.

Aduen, P., Rich, B. A., Sanchez, L., O’Brien, K., & Alvord, M. K. (2014). Resilience Builder Program therapy addresses core social deficits in youth with high functioning autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Psychological Abnormalities in Children, 43:269–286.

Watson, C. C., Rich, B.A., Sanchez, L., O’Brien, K. & Alvord, M.K. (2013). Preliminary study of resilience-based group therapy for improving the functioning of anxious children. Child and Youth Care Forum. DOI 10.1007/s10566-013-9238-6.

Rich, B. A., Hensler, M., Rosen, H. R., Watson, C., Schmidt, J., Sanchez, L…Alvord, M.K. (2014). Attrition from therapy effectiveness research among youth in a clinical service setting. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research. 1:343-352.

Alvord, M.K. & Rich, B.A. (2012). Resilience builder program: Practice and research in a Private Clinical Setting. Independent Practitioner, 2012, 32, 18-20