Developmental Lags
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About Developmental Lags
Developmental Lag Therapy for Teens in Santa Monica & Los Angeles
Developmental lags in adolescence refer to situations where a teenager is not meeting the emotional, social, or cognitive milestones expected for their age. This can show up in many ways — emotional immaturity relative to peers, difficulty with age-appropriate independence, struggles with abstract thinking or impulse control, or social behavior that seems more characteristic of a younger child.
Dr. Sally Hackman, PhD, MFT, has specialized in child and adolescent development for over 35 years in Santa Monica and the greater Los Angeles area. Her PhD in Clinical Child Psychology gives her deep expertise in developmental norms and the wide range of factors — biological, psychological, and environmental — that can contribute to developmental lags in teenagers.
Understanding what is driving a developmental lag is essential to addressing it effectively. Therapy with Dr. Hackman begins with careful listening and assessment — not labeling — to understand the whole teenager and what support they actually need.
Key Points
Expert Developmental Support for Teenagers.
Empowering Resilience
Dr. Hackman helps teenagers build the emotional regulation, social skills, and self-awareness that support healthy development — working at each teen's actual level, not a fixed standard, and celebrating genuine progress at every step.
Healing Space
A completely confidential, non-judgmental space — in person in Santa Monica or via Zoom — where teenagers are met with genuine curiosity and warmth, never compared unfavorably to peers or made to feel deficient.
Transformative Support
Using a developmentally informed, integrative approach, Dr. Hackman works directly with the teenager while maintaining close parent consultations — ensuring that home and therapeutic environments are aligned and mutually supportive.
OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU
Your Teen's Wellbeing Is Our Priority.
Developmental lags are not a fixed destiny. With the right support during the adolescent years — a critical period of brain development and identity formation — many teenagers make substantial developmental progress and go on to thrive as young adults.
Dr. Hackman’s experience spans community mental health, academic medicine, and private practice, giving her an unusually broad perspective on adolescent development and the many factors that can accelerate or impede it.
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Years of Adolescent Development Experience
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Serving Santa Monica Continuously
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Confidential — Always
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First Session Free If You Don't Return
FAQ
Common Questions
Developmental lags can have many causes — including anxiety, depression, ADHD, learning differences, trauma, family disruption, social isolation, or simply a different developmental timeline. A thorough assessment is important to understand what is driving the lag before determining the right approach.
Maturity varies considerably among teenagers, and some variation is entirely normal. A developmental lag becomes a clinical concern when it is causing significant distress, affecting the teenager's functioning in important areas of life, or widening rather than narrowing over time. A consultation with Dr. Hackman can help clarify what you are seeing.
If attention, impulse control, or learning difficulties appear to be contributing to the developmental lag, a formal evaluation is worth considering. Dr. Hackman can assess whether a referral for psychoeducational or neuropsychological testing is appropriate and help coordinate that process.
Yes — parent consultation is an integral part of adolescent therapy at Dr. Hackman's practice. Understanding the developmental picture and working consistently across home and therapy settings makes an enormous difference to outcomes. A teen enters high school. Further separating and individuating, the meetings with parents are less frequent excluding crisis.