Training:

Specializing in individual, parenting and group counseling for adolescents, young adults and their families, I am a New York State Licensed Clinical Social Worker (License #085149-1) and Connecticut State Licensed Clinical Social Worker (License #10198). I received my Masters of Science in Social Work (MSSW) from the Columbia University School of Social Work. In the mornings, I facilitate the Young Adult Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Intensive Outpatient Program at Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, CT. Certifications earned include: Therapeutic Crisis Intervention for Families (certified trainer), Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (certified trainer) and SIFI certified supervisor. Extensive post-graduate training in the following interventions: Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, CBT for Prolonged Grief Disorder, Complementary Integrative Mental Health (food-mood connection), Attachment skills building and Attachment repair, The Sanctuary Institute model of trauma informed care, Grief Counseling, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Expressive Arts Therapy, Sensory Therapy, Sand-tray Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, "Brain-mapping", Mindfulness Skills-building Executive Functions Coaching and Parent Coaching. My personal history is infused with using art in the process of growth and healing. I am the parent of 3 young adults.

Specialties:

Treatment areas of specialization range from trauma, complicated grief and anxiety disorders (OCD, Eating Disorders, Phobias and Social Anxiety) to managing issues that impair school success. Working for many years in a trauma-informed setting with children, adolescents and families has provided me with a strong foundation to address symptomatic behaviors of: emotional regulation, impulse control, social skills development including respectful peer relationships & dating, and life skills mastery to avoid involvement with negative influences like substances and antisocial actions. Value-based individuation and goal-setting are central features of my practice. Experiences as a Clinical Director, a Senior Clinician and Group Facilitator in residential and outpatient care settings have informed my belief in the importance of a consistent continuum of care.

Families as Partners

Working with pre-teens, adolescents and young adults in private sessions means working with a family. While confidentiality under HIPPA laws protect children, parents are the experts on their own children and will be actively involved in the treatment process throughout. If a minor reveals life-threatening thoughts or actions in session, they will be advised that the confidentiality rule demands disclosure to their family. Parents will receive "coping toolboxes" of new strategies to implement, provide feedback and insight plus evaluate progress toward goals.

Sometimes it will make sense for parents to be enrolled in therapy for coaching instead of the children. After evaluating needs and setting goals we will determine how to reach the goals in the most impactful and quickest fashion.

C0-Parenting: For families with divorced parents, I offer a co-parenting "bootcamp". This is a time limited set of sessions designed to avoid conflict, increase constructive communication and re-focus on the needs of children. You and your ex-spouse may take this opportunity together (preferred and cheaper!) or separately.

Adoptive Families: I have a great deal of experience in supporting the successful acclimations in an adoptive family, particularly in instances of trauma in prenatal, birth and earliest months after delivery plus historical generational trauma. Cultural humility combined with mapping the developing brain to repair delays is a particular area of focus for my practice.