Therapy with Children
A common question parents, teachers and other caregivers ask is, “What does a psychotherapist do with a 7 year old during an office visit? Do they really sit there for 50 minutes and talk about what’s bothering them?” The answer is that most children that young would not tolerate a 50 minute traditional talk therapy session. Children "play" their emotions and problems, and my office is equipped with objects and tools which help children process events and feelings which may be troubling them. Play Therapy is the most common method used in mental health to treat children suffering from a range of issues including depression, anxiety, trauma or abuse of any kind, grief/loss related to divorce, moving, death, illness, and peer problems. The foundation of play therapy assumes that given the right setting and opportunity, children have the ability to learn how to solve problems effectively.

Therapy with Adolescents
Treatment planning with older youth and adolescents is designed on a case by case basis and play therapy can often be modified to address many issues listed above. In general, the older the child, the more verbally expressive they become. Younger children play out what is troubling them while older children and teens are able to talk about problems and participate in their treatment plan using more advanced developmental skills such as critical thinking, and conceptual reasoning. In addition to Play Therapy, I also use other treatment models such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Narrative Approaches, and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, particularly when treating eating disorders, personality disorders, and parasuicidal behaviors.

Family therapy is a time when a parent and child come together and learn new ways of solving problems in a safe environment. Parents will be supported in their role in becoming the best model they hope to be for their child. As your provider, my role is to help cultivate and strengthen the relationship between parent and child, and teach skills to better manage conflicts. Parenting is humbling, stressful, joyful, demanding and requires us to deal with problems we may be ill-equipped to solve on our own. The time I spend working with parents and children together is one of the greatest gifts I receive from my practice.