Dr. Gregory Moore is a New Jersey Licensed Psychologist (#2833) with twenty years of experience working as a family therapist. He is also a certified school psychologist with twenty-two years of experience working in the public school setting. Dr. Moore has worked as a juvenile detention center guard, has designed alternative high school programs for behavior disordered adolescents, has created and run anger management groups in both inpatient and outpatient settings, and has given talks on the topic of behavior problems to numerous parent groups and school districts throughout the Mercer and Middlesex County New Jersey areas. Dr. Moore has evaluated literally thousands of children and adolescents, including gifted testing and preparation for maximum performance.
Dr. Moore is an individual who had two parents with alcohol and mental health issues. Dr. Moore also has both learning differences and Attention Deficit Disorder and therefore acutely understands the experiences of families who come to him for assistance. Despite these challenges, Dr. Moore graduated with high honors from Pace University’€™s doctoral program and is a member of Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology.
PHILOSOPHY
My philosophy is quite simple. I understand that many children who have behavior issues may be experiencing a variety of physiologically-based anomalies. Some may have true Attention Deficit Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, and other mood disorders such as depression. While medications for many of these children MAY be appropriate, they do not teach children or adolescents how to learn to cope with their emotions and therefore, may send a message that sounds like one of the following:
A. I’ll take the medication. Lots of people I know take medications for depression, anger, and A.D.D. I don’t need therapy. I’m not crazy, I just have a “condition”.
This type of thinking results in a belief that taking pills without learning coping strategies is ok. This is a “quick fix” mentality that is reminiscent of those who use illegal substances, believe that learning skills is a waste of time, and does not take into account thelong-term consequences of taking psychotropic medications such as potential liver damage and other unwanted side effects. It also promotes an “excuse” mentality that can allow the child to take no responsibility for his/her behavior. Having a disorder such as A.D.H.D. may explain behavior, it does not excuse behavior. Your child still needs to take responsibility for how he interacts with others. “You can’t hold me responsible, I have A.D.D. (or Bipolar Disorder, etc.)” simply doesn’t work in the real world.
B. Why do I have to take this medication?
This type of thinking results in a tendency toward non compliance of one’s medication regime. This is a MAJOR problem with children and teenagers who may understandably resent having to take medicines that challenge their sense of invincibility or are simply too “inconvenient” to be taken regularly. By learning and practicing emotional management skills, a positive message of empowerment is sent and the possibility may exist for a reduction or cessation of the need for medication.
Because of my concerns regarding a medication only approach to the treatment of many psychological disorders, it only makes sense to provide clients with a number of skills that are designed to reduce anxiety, depressive symptoms, and problems with anger, the three main reasons why most people enter therapy in the first place.
I am also an avid proponent of parental assistance. Dealing with children who have anxiety, depression, and/or anger can be worrisome, gut-wrenching, and exasperating, depending upon the nature and extent of the problem. Sometimes parents just need emotional support but often, they need to learn how to keep calm and stay focused when they are faced with a child who is struggling with his/her emotions. This is why a large part of the focus of this website is designed to help you, the parent, learn your own skills set in order to maximize your efforts and minimize your stress level and tendency toward reactive, unproductive behaviors.
What I have to say next is vitally important and cannot be overemphasized. The key for success is this: IT’S REPETITION, NOT ROCKET SCIENCE! Skills are useless unless you practice them. Research has told us that it takes about 35 days to install a new habit and this is exactly what we are trying to accomplish. If you want to improve your ability to play soccer, you might see a coach who would tell you how to kick the ball, how to dribble and pass, or how to prepare for a kick if you are a goalie. However, we all understand that even if the coach is David Beckham, nothing will change without consistent practice. Therefore, if you are a parent or counselor utilizing these techniques with a child or teenager, you will need to find ways of gently encouraging your child to learn skills that are empowering. I have found a number of helpful and not so helpful ways of doing this and you may find that contacting me for a 15 or 30 minute phone consultation would be very helpful.