An Interview with W. Keith Sutton, Psy.D. on Oppositional Defiant Disorder

Mental Help Net (www.mentalhelp.net) presents the Wise Counsel Podcast (wisecounsel.mentalhelp.net), hosted by David Van Nuys, Ph.D. "Dr. Van Nuys interviews Keith Sutton, Psy.D. on Oppositional Defiant Disorder". In this edition of the Wise Counsel Podcast, Dr. Van Nuys interviews Keith Sutton, Psy.D. on Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). Dr. Sutton is a California Bay Area based Psychologist who has specialized in family therapy through his private practice partnership with Jim Keim, LCSW (a student of Jay Haley, one of the founders of modern family therapy). Dr. Sutton notes that late childhood is all about individuation, and that some level defiance at this age is age appropriate. The diagnosis of ODD occurs when normal defiance takes on an extreme character resulting in children having problems functioning at home or at school. ODD is about children's need for limit-setting. As children become more anxious about not having limits set upon them appropriate to their needs, they become more likely to act out. Dr. Sutton describes his approach to treating ODD, which involves family and individual meetings, observation of family interactions, parental education and respite, a non-blaming systemic treatment formulation, and an eclectic array of possible interventions, offered with the understanding that several will likely need to be tried as there is no single intervention that always works.