River Oak Center for Children: Therapeutic Behavioral Services for Children

Parents do their best to keep their children out of danger, but what if your child never thought
of his or her own personal safety, no matter how many times you cautioned them? Nine-year-old
David's impulsive behavior often placed him in danger. Despite repeated warnings for his safety, he simply would not listen. He was also very aggressive with his adoptive father and other adults, often hitting, biting, and kicking them. Things got so bad that he had to be placed in an emergency psychiatric hospital.

David's father turned to River Oak's Therapeutic Behavioral Services (TBS) program for
help. TBS is a one-on-one “booster” program that can be called upon when a parent and child
feel they are not making progress working on severe behavioral problems through other River
Oak or Sacramento County mental health programs.

Working with David's father, the TBS clinical team helped David learn more effective ways to
interact with others and to follow directions. David learned how to slow down and listen, think
about the instructions given to him, ask questions if he didn't understand, and follow through
by doing what was asked. He and his father practiced these new skills daily through role
plays, visual aids, and positive reinforcement. After three months, David graduated from TBS a
completely different boy.

Children are referred to TBS by the Sacramento County Child and Family Access Team,
Department of Health and Human Services Division of Mental Health (916-875-9980).