09/10/2026
A behaviour can require a clear boundary and still need to be understood.
In this case, an important clue was not only that the child was hitting. It was where the behaviour happened.
At home, but not with friends.
That difference led Dr Laura to look beyond the behaviour itself and explore what happened around it.
The parent withdrew to regulate. The child experienced the distance differently. When hitting brought the parent back into the interaction, the behaviour began to serve a purpose.
Understanding that purpose did not make the hitting acceptable.
It made the work more precise.
Instead of focusing only on stopping the behaviour, Dr Laura worked with both the parent and the child to change the pattern surrounding it.
Case details have been kept general to protect the client’s privacy.