Strategic Alternatives Behavioral Health, LLC

Jessica Carrion, LPC, CCTP I have been a Licensed Professional Counselor for 16 years and a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional for 11 years. I graduated with a dual Master's degree in Mental Health Counseling and School Guidance Counseling in 2007 from C.W. Post, Long Island NY. I received my Undergraduate degree in Human Relations from St. Joseph's College, Long Island NY. I first began counseling services in a generalized form, but within a short time I began to peak interest in two specific areas; Behavioral Modification and Trauma Informed Care. I therefore decided to further my education to specialize in areas. I completed the Applied Behavioral Analysis program through Florida Institute in 2009. I then completed and received my certification as a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional through the International Association of Trauma professionals in 2012. I most recently earned my certification in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy in 2025. There is no age that I feel would be too young or too old for my services. People of all ages can benefit from behavior change. I believe that by finding the function of a behaviors it allows for an individual and specific goal orientated treatment plan. This is equally true with trauma care. PTSD occurs in all ages and in many different forms. I offer trauma services to both children and adults. Trauma Informed Care has many different components that intertwine with one another; often unknown to the one who is suffering so deeply. Traumatic events can result in significant feelings of disconnect from your world. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, Anxiety, Emotional Dysregulation and/or attachment disruption may all be a result of the trauma you experienced. Traumatic events may be identifiable through one particular event; fire, accident, sexual assault, witness of murder, suicide or lack of safety. But, then there are many, many individuals that are unaware of their trauma or the role it plays in their life. Traumatic events, either identifiable or not, remain in our brain, thoughts and ability to feels safe within out world; with no uncertainty they impact our quality of life. Reintegration Therapy There are many obstacles in life that can cause a feeling of disconnect within our family or the world around us. You may find yourself struggling with reintegrating into the community after being away for a duration of time or reuniting with a child. This is not an easy task to overcome on your own. May it be military leave, incarceration or other circumstances, the process can be exhausting and cause feelings of despair and helpless. But, you don’t need to travel this journey alone. You can find support and guidance at Strategic Alternatives. Our strategies are designed to be nurturing and effective. Sibling Relational Therapy There are challenges within all relationships, but not to the degree that you feel overrun by your children. This service is for parents who can declare feeling complete disconnect between their children. Therapist will work jointly with the siblings in sessions. Parents will work 1:1 with the therapist during feedback sessions, while learning how to transfer/generalize the skills learned in sessions into real life scenarios. Art Therapy True art has no boundaries or limitations. The facilitation of this group is to teach alternative strategies to communicating how one is feeling. Group member's will be taught the importance of communication skills and the importance of being able to express their wants, needs, likes and dislikes when putting them into words when it is so difficult to. Group members are encouraged to share thoughts and emotions they experienced throughout the activity. In return, members are encouraged to offer feedback to those who chose to share. The group facilitator will be to provide support during feedback sessions and redirect groups as needed. Sensory Introduction Through exposure to sensory stimulation, therapists will isolate potential areas of over stimulation or deprivation. Children will learn a variety of coping and de-escalation techniques through the manipulation of materials within their environment. Structured sensory activities will concentrate on input through the proprioceptive and vestibular systems. Long term goals include the development and ability to maintain a skill set to self-regulate sensory input. Fine Motor Fine motor skills are those that involve a refined use of the small muscles which control the hand, fingers and thumb. With the development of these skills, a child is able to complete important tasks such as writing, feeding oneself, dressing, buttoning, opening locks, turning door handles or even zippering. These abilities gradually develop through experience and exposure to a variety of toys, materials and even foods. Why is fine motor skill development important? Little hands need to develop dexterity and strength. We, as parents or caregivers, can help this process by encouraging children to play, explore and interact with a variety of items. Clothing fasteners, safety scissors, clothes pin activities and even play dough are all tactile examples of practices that facilitate fine motor development. Vestibular The vestibular system includes the parts of the inner ear and brain that help control balance, eye movement and spatial orientation. It helps keep you stable and upright. Children with vestibular issues may not know where their body is in space. This can make them feel off balance and not in control. You might see this child as “awkward and clumsy.” They may become frustrated with an activity such as running or even going up and down stairs, but it is actually due to difficulty knowing how their body is oriented and whether it’s stable. They may move slowly or avoid activities that are too challenging. You may observe that they avoid physical activities that other kids find fun. For example, they might be fearful on a swing because they’re not receiving the sensory input to tell them they’re securely seated so as the swing moves, they struggle with understanding how to shift their weight to balance. Proprioceptive Proprioceptive delays can be easily misinterpreted as the child misbehaving or not following direction. Although, in fact, a child is often frustrated that they are reprimanded for behaviors that are outside their control. These behaviors occur due to the brain not telling the body how much strength it requires to do something. These are the kids that are often viewed as careless or rushing; the ones that are constantly told to “slow down.” Perhaps you have witnessed a child pick something up, but they do it with full force and drop it on the floor. This is due to the child not being able gauge the strength or force the need to use. This child may break the pencil point because they’re writing too hard, rip a page when they just meant to turn it or slam into someone when their intention was a gentle hug. They may be in constant motion, bump into things or seem out of control. When kids don’t get enough feedback from the sensory system, they may exaggerate their movements to get the information they need from the environment. They may love physical activity, but can’t slow down and often don’t recognize that some of the things they do put them at risk of getting hurt IEP Consultation Often behavioral concerns are found in more than one environment. This is especially true within the educational setting. Parents are often left feeling helpless and without support. "How do I know what to ask for when I don't know what is offered?" While acting as a resource. Strategic Alternatives can help guide you through the process of requesting and obtaining what services the PA public school districts must provide to your child. Parents will be able to generate a list of concerns to fulfill the parent feedback section required for testing **This service is contractional and billed by the hour. The anticipated time needed for this service is 5 hours. This will include the observations and written report. On site services: I am available for on site, classroom visits for observation. I collect data and assess the function of the behavior. An Functional Behavioral Analysis is completed through observe the child in 3 separate settings within the school while tracking the antecedent or activating event that led to the behaviors. Based on the observation, data and feedback from the school, I will determine if the behavior is attention seeking (I can’t communicate what I’m feeling) or Escape (I’m going to do whatever I can to distract you from making me do this.) These findings will be provided in a written report that the parent can share with the school. **This service is contractional and billed by the hour. The anticipated time needed for this service is 5 hours. This will include the observations and written report. Behavior Modification Plan: Following data collection and determining the function of a child's behavior a Positive Behavior Support Plan can be created. The intention of this plan is to be used as a resource for those working with the child. Strategies and techniques will be written to support school staff and family members with extinguishing the nonpreferred behaviors. The behavior plan will be specific to the behaviors exhibited by the individual child; "In the event that Matthew crawls under his desk, school staff will utilize Proximity Control while utilizing the Keeping The Demand On strategy. **This service is contractional and billed by the hour. The service hours are billed based on how in depth the behavior plan is and severity of targeted areas.