Question 1

What is parenting consultation, and how is it different from therapy?

Accepted Answer

Parenting consultation coaches the parent, not the child. Instead of putting your child in treatment, we work on what you do at home — the routines, responses, and language that shape behavior. It is practical and time-limited: you leave with strategies you can use that evening. It is not psychotherapy, and it is not a diagnosis.

Question 2

Who is Alexis Davis?

Accepted Answer

Alexis Hinchey Davis is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW #113150, Massachusetts) with a Master of Social Work from Boston College. For over a decade she guided pediatricians on children's emotional and behavioral challenges through the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project at Tufts Medical Center, where she was trained in the Incredible Years and Triple P programs that anchor her consulting practice.

Question 3

What approaches do you use?

Accepted Answer

Two evidence-based parenting curricula with decades of research behind them: the Incredible Years and Triple P (Positive Parenting Program). Rather than handing you a manual, sessions adapt what works in those programs to your children, your household, and your constraints.

Question 4

How much does it cost, and is there a free option?

Accepted Answer

The first step is a free 15-minute consultation with no cost and no obligation — you describe what is happening and hear honestly whether this is the right fit. Ongoing coaching is a paid service; rates are discussed on that first call.

Question 5

Do you work with families outside Massachusetts?

Accepted Answer

Parenting consultation is coaching rather than clinical treatment, so it is available more broadly than licensed therapy, and sessions are held by video. Clinical services requiring a Massachusetts license are limited to Massachusetts. If you are unsure which you need, ask on the free call.

Question 6

My child is having tantrums and nothing works. Can this help?

Accepted Answer

That is the most common reason parents call. Repeated tantrums, refusal, or defiance usually have a pattern underneath them — a trigger, a routine, or a response loop that is quietly reinforcing the behavior. Consultation identifies that pattern and replaces it with a specific plan you can run consistently, which is what actually changes behavior.

Question 7

What ages do you work with?

Accepted Answer

Families with young children through adolescence. The Incredible Years and Triple P frameworks both scale across ages; the strategies change with the developmental stage, but the underlying method — clear expectations, consistent responses, connection first — does not.

Question 8

How do I get started?

Accepted Answer

Book the free 15-minute call. Bring one concrete example of a hard moment in your week — that single story usually tells us more than a questionnaire would, and you will leave the call with at least one thing to try.

Straight answers, one question at a time

My child's tantrums don't stop, and nothing I try works. What do I do?

My 4-year-old hits when he's frustrated. How do I make it stop?