Therapy for Children and families

Dear parent,

We are living in some very different times. Over the past year I had to opportunity to work with children in the school setting, and know first hand the challenges children are having with anxiety and depression. Every year that passes, seems like there is a new hurdle to overcome. Parenting is constantly shifting, and the norms of our youth continue to change from day to day. COVID and the pandemic are part of the stressors, and I have found it increased anxiety in all, but also changes in the home, changes in the family, stressors that affect us as parents, losses, and societal pressures to be “a certain way” (in school or through social media). There have been big changes in how we live our lives, that can be overwhelming to our children. Bullying has always been around, although it may look different then it did when you were a kid. Social media is also impacting youth in ways that they have access to so much information, and maybe information they aren’t ready for. Relationships are much more complicated, seem to “feel more mature” than what we remember.

All in all, it is expected that children are having these challenges these days and dealing with BIG FEELINGS. Children are so resilient, and each will have their unique life experience, but as parents and as a therapist we provide them with exactly what they need in order to repair their level of safety and connections, and return to their “normal” much more resilient self.

What Therapy with a child can look like:

• exploring causes of the new behaviors 1:1 through play or art

• learning coping skills to help them learn relaxation, self regulation, managing anger

• working with parent to understand the child’s symptoms, why it is happening, and what the parent can do to support the child

• working with both the child and parent together to learn and build coping skills

• teaching problem solving (telling an adult, identifying solutions to the problem), communication (asking for help, communicating how they are feeling)

• creating structure, clear rules and expectations in the home

I am trained in:

Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy- which treats trauma or any significant experience through exploring thoughts/feelings, teaching coping skills to manage their emotions, and rewriting an adaptive narrative about their scary/difficult experience

EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) for children- is a fast track way to heal any significant issues the child may be experiencing. It works at identifying the core negative beliefs/thoughts associated with experiences in life, and teach the child skills to help with regulation, and empowering the child.

Interpersonal Therapy for Depression- This is a therapy used with middle school and high school aged children that explores their closeness in relationships, ability to communicate and get the support they need, explore significant changes in the family and life that could be causing them to feel depressed.

I also use age appropriate play and art in my sessions with children, give the child and parent concrete tools/coping skills to practice, and work through a strengths based approach.