Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Symptoms of Conduct Disorder
California-based social worker and psychologist Miriam Galindo, PsyD, works with children and families involved in high-conflict divorce through her own practice in Irvine. Possessing more than two decades of experience working with at-risk clients, Dr. Miriam Galindo has completed hundreds of hours of continuing education and training in such subjects as conduct disorder.
The symptoms of conduct disorder are divided into four categories: aggressive conduct, destructive behavior, deceitful behavior, and violation of rules. These categories include such things as persistent lying, bullying, skipping school, behaving in a sexual manner at a young age, and being intentionally destructive. Since many children display at least one of these symptoms at some point during their development, a diagnosis of conduct disorder is not applied to any child unless they show at least three symptoms over the course of 12 months. These symptoms must also be persistent and appear multiple times.
Depending on when kids display these symptoms, they may be diagnosed with either childhood-onset or adolescent-onset type. Childhood-onset type is defined by the appearance of at least one symptom before the age of 10. Most people with this subtype are male and demonstrate increased physical aggression toward others. Meanwhile, adolescent-onset type is reserved for kids who start showing symptoms of conduct disorder after the age of 10. Compared to younger children with conduct disorder, these individuals are less likely to be aggressive toward others.
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
How to Interview a Child
California-based psychologist and social worker Dr. Miriam Galindo earned a master of social work from California State University and a doctor of psychology from Trinity College of Graduate Studies. Since graduating, Dr. Miriam Galindo has completed numerous continuing education courses and training programs, including several programs on interviewing children.
Properly interviewing a child starts with choosing the right location. An ideal location is a neutral place that is both secure and quiet.
The location should not have too many toys that may distract the child, but paper and crayons should be available. Any tables in the room should be large enough to accommodate a child and an adult sitting beside one another since interviewing across a table may be intimidating to a child.
Chairs should be of similar height so eye-level contact can be made. An interviewer should be willing to sit on the floor if the child decides to sit on the floor.
During the interview, the interviewer should greet the child by name and be open and friendly. The interviewer should introduce himself or herself and tell the child where his or her parents are waiting.
Providing a snack before starting the interview may help the child feel more comfortable. Breaking up the interview into sections may also make children feel more at ease.
All questions posed during the interview must be open. The questions must never be leading, and the interviewer must encourage the child to answer however he or she thinks is appropriate.
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Dos and Don’ts of Good Co-Parenting
Licensed social worker and psychologist Dr. Miriam Galindo works in private practice in Irvine, California. In this capacity, she primarily works with at-risk children and families involved in high-conflict divorce cases. To assist her clients, Dr. Miriam Galindo provides such services as reunification and co-parenting counseling.
Below are several dos and don’ts of co-parenting:
- Do be consistent: Children need consistency, particularly when they are going between two different homes. For this reason, parents must maintain the same bedtime, mealtime, and chore schedule, so children know that rules are enforced regardless of which parent they are staying with.
- Don’t use kids as messengers: When it comes to communication between both parents, the child should never be the messenger. Instead, both parents must communicate with one another on a regular basis. At the same time, good co-parents never talk badly about their ex or their ex’s new partner in front of their children.
- Do be respectful: People wouldn’t agree to co-parent if they thought their ex was unfit to raise their child. Because of this, co-parents must respect their ex’s decisions about what activities their child can enjoy at their house, as long as those activities do not threaten or harm the child.
- Don’t sabotage relationships: Good co-parents do not attempt to sabotage their child’s relationship with their ex. This means they do not try limiting how much time a child spends with their parent or affecting the child’s view of their parent.
Monday, August 27, 2018
Mediation and Arbitration
Dr. Miriam Galindo, a licensed social worker and psychologist, works in private practice in California. In addition, Dr. Miriam Galindo is trained in mediation.
Bringing disputing parties together to resolve conflict, mediators are neutral third parties. Each party involved in mediation plays an active role in the process and is given the opportunity to tell his or her side of the story. This information helps the mediator provide helpful and relevant advice to guide the parties toward a resolution of their conflict.
Ultimately, the mediator has no power to decide who “wins.” The parties make the final decision in the resolution to their problem.
Further, court trials are not replaced by mediation; trials are put on hold until an outcome is decided in mediation. If that outcome still requires a court hearing, the parties will go to court.
Mediation is noticeably different from arbitration. In arbitration, the trial is replaced and arbitrators have the final say over the outcome of the negotiation process. Extensive discovery is performed during arbitration to ensure that arbitrators have all the facts and evidence they need to make a fair decision.
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Developing Effective Shared Parenting Standards
Since 2011, Miriam Galindo, PsyD, has served Families in Transition in Irvine, California, as a psychologist. Dr. Miriam Galindo’s work focuses on child psychology, especially in relation to child custody hearings.
Consistent limits for children help them to learn and grow effectively, and consistency can often be strained when parents separate or divorce. One parent may allow the child to eat sweets at any time of day or skip chores, thereby potentially undermining the other parent’s attempts to foster discipline and encourage growth. Regardless of whether the parents are actually separated, this almost always has a negative effect on children. They may grow up believing that rules either are inconsistent and cannot be trusted or can often be broken, which may result in disrespect for authority.
While some parents may agree to minor differences, it is best to find common ground. Parents should first identify all the areas in which they agree or nearly agree, then discuss minor differences before grappling with any substantial divergences in parenting style. A mediator can help develop acceptable compromises or identify which areas of disagreement are most important to which parent.
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Family Therapy for Divorces
From 1993 until 2001, Miriam Galindo, PsyD, worked with Olive Crest in Santa Ana, California, as a social worker, and since 2011, she has worked with Families in Transition in Irvine as a psychologist. Families have come to Dr. Miriam Galindo for many services, including family therapy.
Divorced high-conflict couples often need considerable assistance coordinating their parental responsibilities and separating them from the circumstances of an acrimonious separation, and family therapy can help them put their kids first. Family therapists often help these individuals develop a co-parenting arrangement, whether in parallel or co-operatively, which helps the child. These efforts focus on creating stable, structured environments without negative commentary about the other parent.
The support system of a family therapist can help these parents and their children in many ways, depending on the unique situation of the divorce. Some focus on settling disputes after the divorce, enabling the parents to interact with each other more effectively and act in the best interests of the child. Counseling can also help both parents and children, individually and as a group. It can also focus on healing the emotional wounds of the divorce, enabling the parents to work together more directly than they otherwise might.