I work with children in regard to a number of concerns; separation anxiety, general anxiety, trauma, anger, ADHD/trouble focusing or concentrating/following directions, tantrums, crying, depression, nightmares, trouble with bodily functions, and many more. When working with children, I use a playful, mostly non-directive approach allowing children to process and work through their experiences and concerns in a safe, low-pressure environment. My goal as the therapist is to assist children in understanding their world at their own pace and in an age appropriate way. I use non-directive play, puppet play and other mediums to address current challenges they may be facing, as well as helping with emotion identification and regulation. I also like to invite parents and guardians in for adult sessions focused on supporting their children.

Adolescents face a number of challenges as they are discovering who they are in the world and who they want to be and these challenges can cause youth to act out in a number of ways. During this period of development symptoms are often noticed through school troubles, social struggles, anxiety and depression, eating issues and self-harm, and pulling away from family, as well as many other emotions and behaviors. With adolescents, therapy first focuses on connection and creating a safe, non-judgmental space. Once a strong alliance is created, together we explore sense of self and identity, coping skills and strategies, the examination of negative thinking, self-advocacy, independence, and future goals.

Many of us have come to realize that it’s a myth that once you are an adult you will have it all figured out. Through life’s changes we continue to explore who we are and how we fit into our world. As we mature, more stressors and life transitions come into play, such as relationship stress and loss, childhood trauma resurfacing, loss through death or separation, general anxiety and depression, career worries, and many other issues that arise. In therapeutic work with adults, several of the same concerns and symptoms may be addressed as with adolescents and children but the work may extend to deeper levels. Clients have found it helpful to work with combating internalized oppression and negative messaging, evaluating coping strategies and finding new coping skills, continuing to explore one’s sense of self and personal identity, and simply having a safe space just for them to process life’s perplexities.

The top priority of family therapy is to assist family members in communicating more successfully. All interactions are communication and sometimes the connection between family member’s intent gets lost and continues to spiral out of control. Family work consists of identifying how each family member communicates and what messages they are attempting to convey. It is useful to begin to notice how each person’s thoughts and emotions have an impact on others within the family. Through listening to one another, doing family activities, and playing games, families learn about one another and are able to focus on reconnecting and bonding. During these exercises and through sessions, together we identify current boundaries and work to strengthen or loosen them as necessary depending on the family member and the developmental stage. Additionally, family work can assist parents with examining their current parenting strategies for what works and explore new strategies to try, as well as helping parents to re-establish unity in parenting to provide greater structure and support in their parenting.