Individual Therapy

Our team here at Thoughtful Minds, have included Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) as part of our services because we acknowledge the importance of growth and development in the area of special needs. We provide a diverse range of programs and services for people of all ages with special needs and for their families to aid them in achieving their full potential.

This program is the practice of educating students with special educational needs in a way that addresses their individual differences. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials, and accessible settings. These interventions are designed to help individuals with special needs achieve a higher level of personal self-sufficiency and success in school and in their community, that may not be available if the student were only given access to a typical classroom education.

Common special needs include learning disabilities, communication disorders, emotional and behavioural disorders (such as ADHD and ADD). Our practices commonly include the application and practice of Behaviour Management / Therapy. Behaviour Therapy or Behavioural psychology is a theory of learning based on the idea that all behaviours are acquired through conditioning. Conditioning occurs through interaction with the environment. Behaviourists believe that our responses to environmental stimuli shape our actions.

It is believed that any person can potentially be trained to perform any task, regardless of genetic background, personality traits, and internal thoughts (within the limits of their physical capabilities). It only requires the right conditioning.

There are two major types of conditioning:

Classical Conditioning is a technique frequently used in behavioural training in which a neutral stimulus is paired with a naturally occurring stimulus. Eventually, the neutral stimulus comes to evoke the same response as the naturally occurring stimulus, even without the naturally occurring stimulus presenting itself. The associated stimulus is now known as the conditioned stimulus and the learned behavior is known as the conditioned response.
Operant Conditioning (sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning) is a method of learning that occurs through reinforcements and punishments. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behaviour and a consequence for that behaviour. When a desirable result follows an action, the behaviour becomes more likely to occur again in the future. Responses followed by adverse outcomes, on the other hand, become less likely to happen again in the future.

With the incorporation of these methods with a little bit of Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy, our team here at Thoughtful Minds are able to work with clients to help them achieve their desired behaviours.