Regulation-Focused Psychotherapy for Children (RFP-C) with Disruptive Behaviors

The newest edition of Regulation-Focused Psychotherapy for Children offers a clear, compassionate framework for understanding children’s disruptive behavior as meaningful emotional communication.With more than a decade of empirical research on Regulation-Focused Psychotherapy for Children, this updated manual presents a comprehensive, manualized approach to RFP-C, a short-term psychodynamic treatment designed for children with chronic irritability, disruptive behaviors, and emotional dysregulation. It outlines the theoretical foundations of RFP-C, including affect regulation, defenses, and the Triangle of Conflict, and demonstrates how these concepts guide assessment, case formulation, and intervention. Detailed chapters walk readers through the structure of treatment, therapist stance, and moment-to-moment clinical decision-making, with particular attention to working collaboratively with parents. The manual integrates research findings with richly illustrated clinical examples, including transcripts and case vignettes, to show how therapists help children identify avoided feelings, understand anxiety, and relinquish maladaptive defensive patterns.Written for clinicians, educators, and interested readers alike, the manual translates complex psychodynamic ideas into practical, hopeful guidance for helping children and families. It is particularly useful for clinicians seeking an evidence-informed yet depth-oriented approach to externalizing behavior.

Tracy A. Prout, PhD is a clinical psychologist and the co-founder of IMPACT Psychological Services. Her research includes the first randomized controlled trial of RFP-C. Dr. Prout is the author of several books and dozens of peer-reviewed papers on RFP-C, deliberate practice, and integrative psychodynamic psychotherapy.Tatianna Kufferath-Lin is a clinical psychologist and the Director of Testing and Assessment at IMPACT Psychological Services. Her research includes examining the role of parent work in RFP-C. She has co-authored several publications on RFP-C and integrative psychotherapy, and provides clinical consultation and training in RFP-C to professionals in various fields, including medicine, education, psychology, and social work.Timothy Rice is a child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in practice in New York, New York, USA. He teaches in the Child Division at the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research.Leon Hoffman is Co-Director at the Pacella Research Center of the New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. He is also President of the Center for Regulation Focused Psychotherapy, and Chief Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst at West End Day School, NYC.