Social Emotional Support
Social Emotional Support
When the Social World Is Consistently Difficult
Social and emotional development is a significant part of growing up, and it can look very different from one child or adolescent to another. For some young people, friendships, communication, and navigating everyday social situations happen naturally. For others, these areas can require much more effort and may lead to confusion, frustration, or exhaustion.
Some children want close friendships but struggle with knowing how to start conversations, understand social cues, repair misunderstandings, or navigate changing peer relationships. Others may find themselves repeatedly experiencing situations where the outcome is confusing or upsetting, even though they cannot always identify what went wrong. These challenges can occur for many reasons, including differences in development, communication, emotional regulation, attention, anxiety, or autism-related social experiences.
At Coherence, social emotional support is provided by Jennifer Linton Reesman, PhD, ABPP and Dr. Korrie Allen, PsyD, ABSNP and is based on understanding the individual child or adolescent. Support begins with identifying what feels difficult, what strengths the person already has, and what goals matter most to them.
Social emotional work is not about teaching children to act in a way that feels unnatural or simply memorize social rules. Instead, it focuses on helping young people better understand themselves, recognize patterns in interactions, communicate more effectively, manage emotions, and build relationships in ways that feel meaningful and sustainable.
For some individuals, this may involve practicing specific skills related to conversation, flexibility, problem-solving, or perspective-taking. For others, the focus may be on confidence, self-advocacy, emotional awareness, or understanding why certain situations feel challenging.
The goal is to support children and adolescents in developing the tools they need to navigate relationships and daily experiences while recognizing and respecting the individual ways they communicate, connect, and experience the world.
The difference
There is an important difference between social skills and social understanding, and recognizing that difference can change how support is provided. Social skills are the observable parts of interaction: starting a conversation, taking turns, asking questions, recognizing when an interaction is ending, or adjusting communication depending on the situation. These skills can often be practiced and strengthened over time.
Social understanding involves a deeper layer of communication. It includes noticing subtle social cues, understanding what someone may mean beyond their exact words, recognizing the dynamics of a group, considering another person’s perspective, and repairing misunderstandings when they happen. For some children and adolescents, these parts of social interaction require more intentional support and explanation.
At Coherence, Jennifer Linton Reesman, PhD, ABPP and Dr. Korrie Allen, PsyD, ABSNP consider both the observable skills and the underlying understanding that supports meaningful connection. The focus is not simply on teaching a child what to do in a social situation, but on helping them understand why interactions work the way they do and develop approaches that fit their individual strengths and goals.
For some individuals, support may involve practicing specific communication strategies. For others, the work may focus more on self-awareness, emotional regulation, flexibility, perspective-taking, or understanding patterns in relationships. The approach depends on the person’s developmental profile, experiences, and what is actually creating difficulty in everyday life.
The goal is to help children and adolescents build more confidence and comfort in social situations while developing ways of connecting that feel genuine and sustainable.
additional evaluation
When to Consider Neuropsychological Evaluation Alongside Social Support
For some children and adolescents experiencing social and emotional difficulties, additional evaluation can help clarify what may be contributing to those challenges. Social struggles can arise for many different reasons, including anxiety, attention differences, developmental factors, learning differences, communication styles, or autism spectrum presentations.
In some cases, a child may have strong academic abilities while still experiencing significant challenges with social understanding, flexibility, emotional regulation, or interpreting everyday interactions. Other children may appear anxious or avoidant when the underlying difficulty involves something else entirely. Understanding the pattern of strengths and challenges can help guide the type of support that will be most useful.
At Coherence, Jennifer Linton Reesman, PhD, ABPP and Dr. Korrie Allen, PsyD, ABSNP consider social and emotional concerns within the broader context of the individual’s development and functioning. When therapy raises questions that a neuropsychological evaluation could help answer, clinicians can collaborate with appropriate authorization to better understand the child’s profile and support needs.
By connecting evaluation and therapy when appropriate, families can move forward with a clearer understanding of what is contributing to the child’s experiences and what strategies are most likely to help.
Please note that contacting this practice does not establish a patient provider relationship.
Social Emotional Support Across Both Practices
Social emotional development is an area of clinical focus across Coherence. Jennifer Linton Reesman, PhD, ABPP and Dr. Korrie Allen, PsyD, ABSNP both consider social emotional functioning as an important part of understanding a child or adolescent’s overall profile, though their roles may look different depending on the needs of the individual.
Jennifer Linton Reesman, PhD, ABPP’s neuropsychological evaluations consider social emotional functioning alongside cognitive, developmental, and learning factors. When relevant, evaluation findings may help clarify patterns in social communication, emotional regulation, relationships, and daily functioning, and recommendations may include strategies or supports to address those areas.
Dr. Korrie Allen, PsyD, ABSNP provides direct therapeutic support focused on social emotional development, including work on emotional awareness, coping strategies, communication, relationships, flexibility, and social understanding. Support is tailored to the individual child or adolescent and considers their strengths, challenges, developmental stage, and goals.
For children whose social emotional challenges are connected with broader developmental, learning, or neuropsychological questions, having access to both evaluation and therapy within the same practice can help create a more connected understanding of the child. When appropriate and with family authorization, clinicians can collaborate so that recommendations and treatment goals reflect the full clinical picture.
The goal is to help children and families understand what is contributing to social emotional challenges and identify supports that allow the child to build confidence, connection, and greater success in everyday life.
Inquire About Social Emotional Support
To learn more about social emotional support services at Coherence, reach out to us.