Parent and Family Development Program
Parents can experience mental health challenges like depression, anxiety, and coping with trauma. These can add stress to the already difficult job of parenting. The Parent and Family Development Program (PFDP) at Yale Child Study Center (YCSC) is an outpatient mental health service that helps parents with these kinds of challenges. We work with parents of children under 18 years of age who live in the Greater New Haven area. The program helps parents to support their own mental health and wellness, so they can be more present and engaged with their children.
Program Information
- Age range: Parents of children under 18 years
- Service area: Greater New Haven (with some exceptions)
- Service type: Outpatient interventions
- Areas of concern: Parental depression and anxiety, perinatal depression, parenting-related stress or trauma
- Services provided: Therapy and support through a variety of intervention programs and models
- Program duration: Variable
Services
The focus of this program is on parents, not children. This unique approach allows us to support entire families without meeting with children. The program was developed by a former Yale provider whose research showed that treating a parent’s anxiety or depression can improve a child’s life. We help adults to be successful parents by focusing on their own developmental needs, in addition to their children’s needs.
The PFDP offers a variety of interventions and services for both mothers and fathers. Parents develop their own goals to support their mental health and wellness with the support of a clinician who provides a safe, respectful, and compassionate environment for working together. The clinician can use a variety of interventions that address the parent’s goals and support the parent to set the pace of their work together.
Our Providers
Our Team
Nancy Close, PhD
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychiatry
