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SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN & TEENS

Is your child or teen stressed out, worried, or anxious much of the time? Do they struggle with the day-to-day demands or even engaging in seemingly pleasant activities? Are you just not sure how to help? 

School-Age Children

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I am here to help and to be a support as you and your child walk through difficult times. I offer a safe, supportive, and collaborative space for children and their parents to process and express difficult thoughts, feelings, and experiences, work through transitions and life’s challenges, identify and build on strengths, and develop skills and healthy was to cope. While I work with children with a range of needs, I specialize in treating anxiety and OCD in children. I often work with children struggling with intense worries, intrusive thoughts and obsessions, panic, and anxiety, helping them to feel better, more confident, and to develop healthy ways to manage difficult emotions and stressful experiences. I partner with parents to develop strategies for managing behavior and healing their relationship with their child, increasing positive interactions and reducing conflict. I love to see children and their families become stronger and more resilient to stresses and uncertainties of life. Childhood is a brief period in one’s life and I am passionate about helping families to enjoy their time together.

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Adolescents

 

Adolescence is a time of great transition, growth, and change. Teens face pressures with peers, family, school, and finding their own identity. Families with teenagers are often trying to find a balance between offering support, setting limits, and giving their teen space to grow. I specialize in treating anxiety and OCD in teens and my work with teens often includes strengthening their ability to cope with stressors and worries, including developing their capacity to face fears and manage uncertainty. This time of transition can be difficult for parents as there is often more conflict and difficulty connecting with their teen. Parenting a teen isn’t easy!

 

I have experience working with teens in a range of settings, including outpatient clinics, schools, and in college counseling.  I provide a safe and supportive space for teens to process and express difficult thoughts, feelings, and experiences, work through transitions and life’s challenges, identify and build on strengths, and develop skills and healthy coping strategies.

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Examples of common areas that are addressed with children and teens:

 

  • Adjustment difficulties

  • Anger management, including aggression, defiance, and temper tantrums

  • Anxiety, including worry and fearfulness

  • Attentional difficulties

  • Compulsions

  • Defiance/noncompliance

  • Depression, including sadness, crying, and loss of interest in activities

  • Difficulty coping with transitions and stressful situations (e.g., birth a of a new sibling, moves, changes in schools,  family stressors)

  • Difficulty managing emotions and expressing self in healthy ways

  • Fears and phobias

  • Frustration intolerance

  • Identity development

  • Intrusive thoughts

  • Low self-esteem

  • Moodiness

  • Obsessions/Compulsions

  • Relationship difficulties and family conflict

  • Regulation difficulties (sleeping, mealtime, transitions)

  • Rigidity

  • Separation difficulties 

  • School/homework difficulties

  • School refusal

  • Sibling conflict

  • Social skills and peer difficulties

  • Stress

  • Temperamental challenges, including inflexibility, difficulty adjusting to change/transitions, easily hurt, or irritability

  • Leaving home/college preparation

My Approach

I most often use a cognitive behavioral approach, integrating a range of treatment approaches, that include mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment (ACT), exposure and response prevention (EXRP), management therapy, relational psychodynamic psychotherapy, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE), Circle of Security Parenting (COSP), and play-based approaches. I maintain a strengths-based stance focused on building resilience and well-being. I work collaboratively with the client and family to define therapy goals and to tailor interventions to their specific needs, developmental considerations, and evidence basis for treatment.

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In working with children, I use humor and play-based approaches, which I find helpful to develop a trusting relationship, facilitate a means of communication and self-expression, and provide a nurturing environment for healing and growth. With teens, I provide individual therapy and/or family therapy, depending on the needs of the teen and the family. Especially with children, parent involvement is essential to achieving treatment goals and maintaining progress after treatment, and parents are often included in sessions and as part of collateral sessions. I often include parent coaching to support parents with developing specific skills for managing behaviors and enhancing their relationship with their child. 

trailhead: noun \ ˈtrāl-ˌhed  \ :

the point at which a trail begins.

Whether starting a new journey or taking a different path, I am here to walk with you.

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