Family Therapy

Family Therapy describes a variety of services I have expertise in. Below you will find general information about common concerns and populations I provide therapy for!

Child and Adolescent Therapy

  • Ages 0-17 yrs. Counseling for very young children can be difficult to find so I do offer, and have specialized experience, counseling for children 4 and under.

  • Counseling is tailored to the specific needs and interests of your child and can include: talk, play, and other creative mediums like art, music, sand, and biobilotherapy (therapeutic stories). Please check out "The Use of Play in Therapy" section below for additional information. There are also videos available under the Resources and Referrals Tab.

  • Parents are very important to the counseling process and are involved through direct participation in the child's sessions and/or individual parent sessions

  • Counseling can focus on a single child's needs or on improving sibling relationships, parent-child relationships, and overall family functioning.

  • Common reasons children come to see me: anxiety, depression, social skills, bullying, Autism, ADHD/Sensory deficits, divorce, trauma/grief, abuse/neglect, behavioral difficulties, sibling discord, self-esteem, adjusting to major life changes, parent-child attachment issues, adoption, and suicidal ideation/self-harm

The Use of Play In Therapy

  • I often incorporate play into the therapeutic process, especially for children 10 and under (though it has been proven to be helpful for people of all ages!)

  • I have had training and extensive experience utilizing a variety of play therapy models including Child Centered Play, Filial Therapy, and Theraplay.

  • For more information on Play Therapy and its applications, please visit the Referrals and Resources page of this website

Parenting Skills

  • Parents identify existing strengths, and learn new skills to increase confidence in responding to your child's feelings, behaviors, needs, and experiences. Often done in conjunction with child/adolescent therapy as a way to promote progress in his/her therapy process

  • In therapy I teach parents how to develop emotional intelligence in their children by recognizing and validating emotions while still setting loving boundaries to guide them through life's various challenges

  • Common reasons parents come to see me: to further enhance their child's on-going therapy process, strengthen parent-child attachment relationship, build confidence in parenting skills and style, improve co-parenting relationship, general enrichment

New Parent Counseling

Brief Therapy for first-time parents of a biological or adopted child. Together we focus on identifying each partners' expectations regarding child-rearing, learning skills to proactively create a secure attachment relationship with your child, fine tuning basic couples communication skills (which are very important to the co-parenting relationship), and discussing how to maintain the spark amidst the rush and chaos of everyday life. For parents preparing to adopt their first child we will also spend time discussing the topic of if, how, and when to disclose the adoption to your child.