Your parents raised you to become a productive and loving adult.  Have you noticed that the familiar parenting styles are not producing the same results your parents experienced?  Technology has altered the structure of families and has modified the ways in which our brains process information and feelings.

Positive parenting skills-building seeks to balance responding to the rapid fire demands while remaining grounded in thoughtful actions.  With the support of therapy, parents can examine their family values and design behavioral expectations that make sense.  Using a family-centered approach, we will create a parenting plan that fits the developmental stages and unique personalities of your children.

Has your child been singled out as having social, emotional and/or cognitive issues? As a therapist, I have supported many families and children struggling to maintain equilibrium. School avoidance, oppositional/defiant behaviors, social anxiety and ADHD can be managed effectively through using enhanced strategies.  

Parenting after a split-up is rarely easy.  Even within the most embattled dynamics pathways exist to reach co-parenting without conflict. Volumes of research indicate the quality of co-parenting will impact your child's development.  Equal amounts of research find that children want to be free to love, respect and value both parents.  Children who are able to navigate a divorce without direct and repeated experiences of conflict are able to adjust with confidence and security.

Co-Parenting sessions are time-limited, designed to provide strategies, boundaries, and communication tools. There is no requirement that both parents attend, even change in one parent can have profound impact on a child’s development. Parents can attend together to practice new skills in the safe space of a therapist's office if desired.   

Do you feel: Stressed out?  Angry? Lonely? Depressed? Exhausted? Ugly? Stupid? Scared?  Do these feelings get in the way of your life?  You may want to consider solution-focused therapy to grow into the person you want to be.  I work with people ages 12-29 to help them figure out what they want in life and how to reach their goals in a open, nonjudgmental space.  We look at what stands in your way and how to take action to overcome obstacles.  

Relationships with friends and parents may cause problems and you have the power to change how the relationships work.  From drama to bullying to fighting with parents, you cannot force others to change but you can deal with difficult people in a way that will be more comfortable for you.  You can find your own voice and speak out in effective ways.

Extreme emotions like anxiety, depression, fear and anger may cause you to act in ways that are not helping you and maybe hurting others.  You can learn how manage strong emotions permanently.

Therapy for young people has the power to change the course of your life experience and I would be honored to support you in the process.

When a parent witnesses their child struggle in school, with friends or in family experiences it can be a soul crushing and all consuming.  You may notice a pattern of concerning behaviors or worry that a life event has become too overwhelming for your child.

Several developmentally appropriate interventions are available to support your child's ability to navigate their daily experience with more ease.  Child therapy sessions are rooted in a balance of strengthening areas of their developing brains with the experiential aspects of play therapy, sensory therapy and expressive art therapy. I work in partnership with parents to assess a child's needs and to provide a coping skills toolkit.

Depression, Body image, Eating Disorders, OCD, Social Anxiety, Specific Phobias and many forms of anxiety-related issues can improve through therapy designed to examine our basic thoughts (cognitions) and how these thoughts impact our feelings and behaviors. Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with mindfulness skills and gradual exposures to our sources of fear has been proven to be highly impactful. 

Difficult emotions of stress, sadness, anger can shade our decision-making and cause the unwanted feelings to grow stronger.  Discovering the foundational thoughts that provoke self-destructive behaviors and distressing feelings is the first step. Understanding the “truthfulness” of these thoughts and generating new perspectives about oneself is the start of recovery.

I work with children, teens and young adults who struggle to control impulses that lead to Eating Disorders, OCD, Social Anxiety and Phobias. Treatment is highly individualized and attuned to a client’s developmental level and personal interests. My practice is centered on creating a strong therapeutic alliance at all times.  

We approach managing strong emotions with mindfulness and coping skills that feel natural to young people. Exposure to fears is introduced and practiced in a warm, embracing setting that gently encourages clients to gradually experience their abilities to face big sources of challenge.

DBT is a structured skills therapy with the goal to reduce suffering in order to BUILD A LIFE WORTH LIVING.

Young adults and adolescents are in a unique space in their lives, filled with opportunity and decisions to shape a meaningful future. DBT clients have noticed significant change in emotional responses and effective coping skills.

4 core principles are covered in DBT skills training:

Mindfulness of the Present.

Emotional Regulation to manage difficult, sometimes overwhelming emotions that can be hurtful.

Distress Tolerance to address panic attacks, repetitive intrusive thoughts and manage self-harming urges.

Interpersonal Effectiveness to improve the quality of relationships, impactful self-expression and lower the “drama”.

Grief is an expression of love. Everyone responds to trauma, loss and death differently.  When an adverse event begins to color your experience of life in overwhelmingly dark ways, it may be time to embrace support from a therapist.  

Our brains are designed to store memories in a region that allows us to manage distressing thoughts.  At times, the memories become "stuck" causing images, thoughts and feelings associated with fear and pain to take over, haunt and disable us.  The goal of therapy is to move memories into the their proper place in the brain.

Working in the trauma field has taught me about Post-traumatic Growth.  I have witnessed the power of many children, adolescents and adults emerging from trauma and loss with newly acquired strength and wisdom.  Partnering with you to navigate a comfortable pathway out of pain would be an honor.      

Time Management - Organizational Skills - Working Memory - Impulse Control - Planning & Prioritizing - Flexible Thinking - Emotional Regulation - Sustained Attention - Metacognition/Self-Monitoring

Executive Functions simply translate into the ability strengthen brain skill sets to overcome challenges in life and achieve goals. Everyone experiences both strengths and weaknesses in the executive function realms of the brain, and research indicates this is genetically programmed. Learning skills and habits to adapt is the key to balancing life’s demands.

In the Middle School years, students begin to display strengths and struggles with specific realms of executive functioning. Addressing the less developed areas early can provide a strong foundation for children to succeed in High School and importantly create an internalized sense of self-esteem and self-sufficiency.

Building skills can be coached at any point in life. Often I work with High School and College Students who are acutely aware of the consequences of immature skills development and they begin to experience anxiety or depression. Working with a psychotherapist who is highly trained in executive function coaching provides a strong setting of support.

Executive Function Coaching is structured, goal-oriented and time-limited. The first session begins with assessment and specific, measurable goals are developed. Self-monitoring or “Metacognition” begins the moment one engages in an assessment. Students will learn strategies and work habits to strengthen specific realms of skills and put the learning into action in between sessions.

If you require supervision hours for licensing, I am available and enthusiastic!

Most colleagues find me to be warm, creative, knowledgeable and accepting.

Practice Scope of Distinction: Children, Adolescents, Young Adults, Families & Couples.

Presenting Issues Specialty in: PTSD, Complicated Grief, Anxiety (OCD, Self Harm, Social Phobias), Depression, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder, ADHD, Attachment Disorders, Executive Functioning.

Treatment Interventions (Certified & Highly Trained): TF-CBT, CBT for Anxiety and/or Depression, DBT (individual and group/ teens & parents), Motivational Interviewing, Sensory Therapy, Creative Expression Therapy, Attachment Repair, Parent Coaching, Executive Functions Coaching.