I am a bilingual Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in working with children and adolescents. My focus is on creating a safe and supportive environment while teaching clients skills to manage their emotions effectively. I am genuinely curious about my clients and how we can collaborate to achieve their goals. To help them thrive, it is essential to explore both the ways they connect with others and the ways they may disconnect.
The first session is centered on building rapport and establishing trust, as therapy is a relational process. I want to understand what is important to you. What do you want to learn about yourself? What are your goals? What have you learned about your emotions? The aim is not to shame any behavior but rather to explore what need it is expressing.
One of my greatest strengths is my ability to simplify clinical terms and relate them to my clients' experiences without overwhelming them. I prioritize meeting my clients where they are, focusing on building safety and stabilization. This approach is essential for introducing skills and fostering awareness. I firmly believe that feeling seen, heard, and supported is incredibly powerful in therapy.
I am currently a level 2 AEDP therapist. My experience with this treatment method focuses on addressing the loneliness associated with emotional experiences to foster corrective emotional experiences. This process begins by building a therapeutic alliance grounded in safety and trust. To ensure safety and stabilization, we explore how emotions manifest in the body and identify defenses that can be set aside to access core emotions. We engage in somatic exploration to understand how emotions appear physically while recognizing and dropping our defenses to connect with these core emotions.
Expanding their emotional vocabulary to identify these feelings is important to helping children and adolescents understand their emotions. Equally important is accepting emotions without judgment by acquiring necessary skills.
I am trained in EMDR and focus on the preparation phase to help children/adolescents feel safe in their bodies and the therapeutic relationship.