Hannah Gross
LPC, 10 years of experience
About me
Are you looking for therapy for children, adolescents, or young adults? Great, that's my thing! I work exclusively with kids, teens, and young adults (think college kid). Sometimes I feel like I am just a big kid. I consider this casual and youthful (and sometimes goofy) energy to be a strength, and I know it shows in my ability to connect with my young clients and make them feel truly seen and accepted. Working with this unique age group is more than a job to me; it is both a calling and my greatest honor.
Get to know me
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
First sessions always take the form of an intake appointment where we will have the opportunity to discuss your (or your child's) psychosocial history, current symptoms, and goals for treatment. The discussion is facilitated using an intake assessment that we'll talk through together. The overall purpose of the first session is to paint the big picture, not finalize the details and shading. Please note: for clients under 14, the intake will be held with a parent/guardian alone first, with you being welcome to join us towards the end of the session.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
Growing up, I was made to feel too sensitive, too anxious, too shy, "too__ " a lot of things, I still carry some of that with me. It brings me immense joy to help you feel worthy and "enough" in the way that I was not. That's not to say we won't work to improve our unhelpful habits & symptoms, but there's a way to do that and it never involves shame. I also appreciate my integrative approach to therapy. There are countless therapeutic approaches and modalities, and they all work differently for different people and circumstances. I like to use something I call the "best of the best" method; I pull the most impactful or relevant pieces from a variety of modalities and integrate them into your personal treatment. There is no such thing as "one size fits all" in therapy, I tailor our sessions based on what you need that week. My go-to approaches to pull from include: CBT, DBT, Humanistic, Compassion-Focused, Somatic, Gestalt, Solution-Focused, Strengths-Based, and Feminist Therapies ... with a sprinkle of the arts like music, dance, or art therapy.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
My ideal client is a child, teenager, or young adult who is comfortable with and capable of having meaningful conversations via telehealth. I don't like to use an exact age limitation because everyone is unique; I have held impactful virtual sessions with children as young as 8, and struggled to keep a 19 year-old engaged in the session. You know yourself/your kid best, but generally speaking my telehealth clients are between the ages of 8-22. Some of the most common themes in my work with clients include: building self-esteem, self-reliance, and self-advocacy; coping with stressors like a move, adjusting to college, or a divorce; exploring how to navigate romantic relationships in a safe and mindful way; managing depression, anxiety, stress, and anger; processing difficult or traumatic events; and addressing feminist & LGBTQ+ issues and concerns.
Specialties
Top specialties
Other specialties
I identify as
Serves ages
My treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
CBT is an amazing tool for anyone at any age. The main idea of CBT is that our thoughts directly impact our feelings, and our feelings directly impact how we act or what we do. If we can change our thoughts, we can change our feelings, and we can change our behavior. That changed behavior may lead to more helpful and constructive thoughts in the first place. CBT helps us recognize unhelpful patterns in our thinking that often contribute to chronic feelings of anxiety, frustration, anger, and depression. Here's an example: say you're transferring to a new college next semester and you're having thoughts like "what if I make no friends?" and "what if I'm so alone?" --> those thoughts lead you to feel scared and sick to your stomach with anxiety --> those feelings make you cry and panic every day and you're having trouble functioning. CBT teaches us to recognize that our initial thoughts (no friends, so alone) are just assumptions, we're trying to predict the future, this whole thing hasn't even happened yet! Then you call that kind of thinking on the carpet and say "well how do you even know that? Where is the evidence that you don't know how to make friends? You've made plenty of friends in the past." You were then able to tweak your original thoughts to something more realistic and fair such as "it's normal to be nervous before a huge move, but I have made friends easily many times before, I'm not even physically there yet." Your emotions will reflect that change. You feel less panicked, and more grounded in the present time instead of way in the future. You may not feel amazing still, but this shift in thinking has enabled you to stop weeping, so now you're actually able to eat a solid meal and some chug water. Hey look who's feeling alright enough to get cracking on some work...(this was so most definitely not an example from my real life when I was a sophomore in college and I went to the student health center for counseling and had a life-altering moment when the therapist called ME on the carpet and said "you're not even at Penn State yet, how do you know what will happen there? Didn't know you were Professor Trelawney" and side-eyed me so hard that I realized how extra my anxious mind was being, and I discovered my appreciation for this cool thing she called CBT..... no no definitely not, why would you even think that geez)
Person-centered (Rogerian)
Person-Centered Therapy is the cornerstone of every interaction I've ever had with my young clients. Person-Centered Therapy emphasizes how critical it is to provide clients, especially young, growing, and impressionable clients, with something called "unconditional positive regard." This is the belief that all children deserve warmth, empathy, acceptance, and love regardless of their actions, beliefs, or circumstances. It's sort of like the technical term for the saying "I love you no matter what you do." This reassures children that their worth is intrinsic; it is not dependent on their actions.
Strength-Based
No matter their flaws, every single person has a very particular set of skills (help somebody pls get my reference) that they naturally excel at. Also, many people have consciously taken the time and effort to develop different strengths and interests. Strengths-Based Therapy (SBT) tells us to work smarter not harder by utilizing the strengths we already have, instead of always perceiving things based on what we lack. SBT involves exploring our strengths/resources, identifying which ones are well-established (and/or which ones that are almost there), celebrating them, and leaning in to our advantage. You like to play basketball and are seeking more interaction with people to combat your depression? Great the township court by the library has pick-up games every Monday night - be there or be square. You used to love playing with Legos when you were little and are trying to find impactful self-care activities that don't involve putting cucumbers on your eyes? Target just got the brand new Wicked Legos sets last Friday - better hurry before they sell out. Another neat aspect of SBT is reframing and capitalizing on your ~possibly not-so-desirable but are still a big part of your personality~ traits. Your teenager is "argumentative and talks back" and she really needs to find an extracurricular to add to her growing resume? Awesome the Mock Trial auditions are next month - maybe with her they'll actually make it to states this year. I will always help you to recognize, reframe, and use what you've already got going for you because I am extremely passionate about the work smarter not harder lifestyle. Oh and I want you to really maximize your gifts, blessings, and strengths too obvi...
Compassion Focused
I am constantly telling "my kids" that they need to treat themselves the way they would treat a loved one or dear friend. If a friend turned in an assignment late because they were overwhelmed and confused with the work, would you ever say to them "you're so lazy and irresponsible, you really need to get your act together, you suck" ? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Most likely you'd say something along the lines of "hey I get it, it was a confusing essay prompt, it's good you turned it in so you can get half-credit." Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) is an approach that profoundly benefits those of us who are quick to self-shame and self-criticism. Some people tend to be unreasonably harsh and don't treat themselves with the same sense of love, patience, and understanding that they would give someone else. The overarching goal of CFT is to build a sense of compassion and understanding towards ourselves and others. I support my clients in recognizing and calling out their internal hostility and insecurity, and replacing it with kindness and respect. Doing so helps clients to feel calm and safe in their own beings and bodies. Practicing compassion towards others (instead of automatically interpreting their actions in a negative way) also helps young people experience less social anxiety, self-consciousness, frustration, and emotional dysregulation.