Children
Perhaps your child is overwhelmed by worries or fears, has been hurt by someone, or there has been a death or divorce in the family.  Children are naturally resilient, and tend to find ways that make sense to them to heal any wounds that occur.   However, sometimes children need help dealing with feelings and events so they can continue to grow and develop physically, emotionally, and otherwise.  My approach to therapy with children aims to provide your child with ways he or she can sort through feelings and challenges in a safe and supportive place, and learn skills to navigate life more happily and effectively.  Since children are still developing their capacity to relate, reason, and express themselves, play therapy and focus on building coping skills are usually appropriate.  Because parents are such an important part of children’s lives, I ask parents to meet with me briefly (with or without the child) for 5-10 minutes of each session.  This enables us to act as a team, and maximize the benefits of counseling in the child’s life.

Adolescents
Many challenges can arise during the pre-teen and teen years.  In this “in between” stage between childhood and adulthood, both teens and parents may feel lost, frustrated, or overwhelmed.  Common goals in counseling for adolescents include: peer relationships, anger management, decision making, family relationships, self-esteem, healing from abuse, and coping skills.  Also during this time of life, genetically or biologically based symptoms related to depression, anxiety, and other conditions may arise.  It is important to consider all possible causes of such symptoms (including the natural pressures of adolescence) to provide the best care and quality of life.  I strive to collaborate with you and your teen to achieve common goals and solutions.  To facilitate this end, I ask parents to meet with me briefly (with or without the pre-teen or teen) for 5-10 minutes of the majority of sessions.

Adults
When counseling an adult client, I work to understand what you are seeking or experiencing, and then discuss which different therapeutic tools or approaches have been shown to help such symptoms or to that end.  Usually several tools or solutions have been tried before someone seeks counseling, so I am interested to know what solutions have already been tried, and their results.  Approaches I employ in counseling adults include solution-focused, psychodynamic, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and some cognitive-behavioral techniques.  I have a variety of experience helping clients with such issues as anxiety, depression, unhealthy or violent relationships, loss, trauma, major life change, finding direction, and many others.  While I offer family or couple sessions as part of the treatment for an individual client, I do not routinely offer family or couple-focused counseling.