Services / Severe & Challenging Behavior
Severe & Challenging Behavior Support
When behavior is dangerous, generic strategies are not enough, and force-based ones make it worse. Jess supports families facing aggression, self-injury, and property destruction using compassionate, assent-based methods informed by Dr. Greg Hanley's practical functional assessment and skill-based treatment work: understand exactly what the behavior does for your child, then teach safer skills that do the same job.
This is for you if…
Families dealing with behavior that causes injuries, damage, or genuine fear, often after other approaches have failed or made things worse.
- Aggression toward parents, siblings, or peers
- Self-injurious behavior
- Holes in walls, broken furniture, destroyed belongings
- You have been asked to leave programs, or you are afraid at home
What we work on together
Understanding the function, precisely
Severe behavior almost always works for the child in some way: it stops demands, brings connection, or gets needs met. A careful, modern functional assessment identifies exactly what your child's behavior achieves, because the plan depends on it.
Skill-based treatment, not suppression
Instead of suppressing behavior with consequences, your child learns a safer way to get the same outcome: communicating, tolerating a 'not yet,' and cooperating step by step, at a pace they assent to. This is the heart of the Hanley-informed approach.
Safety and dignity for the whole family
You get practical safety strategies for the hard moments now, while the longer plan reduces the behavior at its source, without restraint-heavy, compliance-first tactics.
How it works
- Free discovery call
Severe behavior needs an honest conversation first: what is happening, how unsafe it is, and whether virtual consulting fits or a local team should be involved.
- Practical functional assessment
Jess works with you to find the conditions under which the behavior happens and what it accomplishes, safely and without provoking crises.
- Skill-based plan, coached
Your child learns communication and tolerance skills that replace the behavior, while you learn how to respond, prevent, and hold the gains.
Prefer to start self-paced? Busting Behaviors Protocol teaches the same approach: the complete system for reducing challenging behavior.
Learn about the protocolCommon questions
What is skill-based treatment (SBT)?
Skill-based treatment, developed through Dr. Greg Hanley's research, first identifies what a child's severe behavior accomplishes, then teaches a progression of skills, communication, tolerating 'no' or 'wait,' and cooperation, that achieve the same outcome safely. The child participates willingly throughout; distress is treated as a signal to adjust, not an obstacle to push through.
Is it safe to address severe behavior virtually?
Often, yes, because the work is parent-mediated and designed to avoid triggering crises rather than provoke them. On the discovery call Jess will honestly assess whether your situation fits virtual support or needs local, in-person services involved, and she will say so directly if it does.
Our last behavior plan made things worse. Why would this be different?
Plans fail when they target the behavior without honoring what it does for the child, or when they rely on escalating consequences. An assent-based plan starts from your child's willingness and builds skills they actually want to use, which is why gains tend to hold instead of blowing up in week three.
What Families Say
From the beginning, Jess was kind, thoughtful, and patient, and she quickly developed a strong rapport with our daughter. … We would highly recommend Jess to other families looking for a compassionate and effective therapist.
David MWe had Jess working with us to help out with behavioural therapy for several months and it was fantastic! … We saw so much progress working with Jess and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her services.
Nicholas RanicarI love love love the flexible and fixed strategy learning. We have been working hard on changes this week. … We have made huge gains.
C.R.
Talk to Jess about severe & challenging behavior
A free 45-minute conversation about your child, no pressure and no obligation. If this service is not the right fit, Jess will say so and point you to what is.
Book your free discovery call