About SYV Therapy: Mission & Philosophy

After growing up in the Santa Ynez Valley, and raising children with high needs, Dr. Kulikov-Ramirez became passionate about bringing resources to a community that is lacking in behavioral health, developmental and doula support for children ages 0-10 and their families. SYV Therapy’s mission is to provide families with a unique opportunity for their children to receive therapeutic services, that are both fun and rooted in the evidence-based knowledge that play & nature experiences help foster growth and overall wellbeing in children.

Additionally, SYV Therapy was established with the goal of supporting children as individuals while also helping promote healthy attachment relationships between both the parent and the child together. Playtime isn’t just for the children at SYV Therapy….we encourage parents to join in on the fun and be an active part of their child’s progress and treatment! Our philosophy is that the best way to approach mental healing and developmental growth in children, is via pathways that are both therapeutic and fun by design. We take a gentle approach to child psychotherapy and let the child lead the way for treatment, using their play-based skills to share, process, and heal. Additionally, we offer private early intervention developmental services to support families who are concerned about their child’s development, but were either found ineligible for, or are not interested in, state services such as the regional center’s 0-3 program. We firmly believe that children learn skills and achieve developmental milestones via play-based activities and by incorporating fun, messy, and nature-based opportunities. When working with a client we always embed activities designed to support all areas of development: cognitive functioning, speech/language, motor function (gross/fine), self-help/adaptive, social-emotional, and sensory integration. Moreover, we feel it’s important to help families from day 1 of learning they are expecting, by setting up a solid foundation of support, via our doula services that offers labor/birth, postpartum and newborn care interventions.

We can support your child with their:

Emotional Dysregulation (biting, yelling, hitting, etc.)
Potty Training
Anxiety
Depression
Low Self-Esteem
Social Skills 
Peer Engagement/Making Friends
Attachment Trauma
Grief & Loss
Pet Loss
Adoption Adjustment
School-Related Trauma/Stress
Executive Functioning 
Developmental Delays
Life Transitions (divorce, new school, new sibling, etc.)
Bullying                                                                                                                   Nightmares/Night Terrors               Post-Pandemic Readjustment     Self-Help Skills                Confidence/Self-Esteem Fine/Gross Motor Development Cognitive Development           Sensory Processing                      Trauma (Sexual, Physical, Emotional)

We can support you with:

Reducing Parenting Stress
Parenting Support, Education & Resources
Understanding Your Child’s Diagnosis
Caring for a Special Needs Child
Balancing Self-Care & Parenting
NOTE: SYV Therapy does NOT  specialize in custody cases or writing letters for attorneys, and we cannot give our opinions on if a child should have contact with, or live with, a certain parent or not. For custody cases please contact your local Mediation office for recommendations for Certified Custody Therapists, as this would be in your best interest. For active Social Services cases, we recommend you contact your social worker for a list of providers that specialize in child welfare cases and/or working with children in the foster system.

SYV Therapy works with the following diagnosis:

Attention/Hyperactivity Disorders
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder
All Developmental Disorders
Down Syndrome
Cerebral Palsy
Spina Bifada
Anxiety Disorder
Depressive Disorder
Emotional Regulation Disorders
Medically Fragile
Post-NICU
Prematurity & Micro Preemies
Sensory Processing Disorders
Social Phobias                                Selective Mutism                           Adjustment Disorder    Trauma/PTSD