Emotional Behavioural Disorder - About

Also known as Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties (BESD), Emotional Behavioural Disorder (EBD) is a learning difficulty that generally goes hand in hand with emotional and behavioural problems.

For some children and young people, their adverse developmental experiences have been such that they require an intensive level of support and therapy. They may need a level of emotional and behavioural stability and predictability in order to improve their health, safety and well-being.

Typically, these children and young people may present with:
•  high levels of need in terms of their emotional, behavioural and social functioning and adjustment
•  high levels of oppositional and challenging behaviours
•  mental health difficulties, including diagnosed mental health disorders
•  high levels of risk of harm to themselves (self injurious behaviours; sexual exploitation)
•  high levels of risk of harm to others (destructive; reckless, and aggressive behaviours)

The Different Types of Emotional Behavioural Disorder
Children who come to us are usually suffering from one or more of the following:

Adjustment Disorder
Also known as Stress Response Syndrome, this is where a child may have experienced a traumatic or life changing
event., which causes them to behave and react in an adverse way, often by being aggressive or rebellious.

Anxiety Disorder
Anxiety can be a symptom of several conditions, which include panic disorder (regular and frequent panic attacks), social
anxiety disorder (an intense fear of every day activities and social activities) and generalised anxiety disorder (feeling
anxious and stressed most of the time).

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder ('OCD')
OCD is a mental illness which causes repeated unwanted thoughts, and in order to get rid of these thoughts the
individual will display extreme compulsions and obsessions. For example a fear of being infected, repeating actions over
and over and constant praying.