My name is Kamryn Russell, and I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the owner of Spreading Your Wings, LLC. I specialize in working with children and adolescents age 4-17, focusing on anxiety, behavior concerns, school issues, emotional regulation, and trauma. I have a certification in trauma which helps aid me with specific tools to use with your child. I have experience working in the school system and with the foster care system, having worked in community mental health prior to opening my practice. I was a school social worker for six years, holding groups, providing crisis management, writing behavior plans, and supporting IEP meetings.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
You will receive some paperwork to complete prior to the first session via your client portal. During the first session, we will use this time to get to know one another and go over your intake form. If you have a teen, they will also complete one. This may include discussing your child's developmental history, strengths, interests, behaviors, and what your child and you would like to see change. I will often ask what you expect from me as your therapist and if your child has been in therapy before. This is a time to get to know one another; my goal is to make you and your child feel comfortable.
What treatment methods and tools do you utilize?
Children learn to understand the world and their place in it through play. It’s where they’re free to act out their inner feelings and deepest emotions. Since the child can’t adequately express themselves in the adult world, the therapist joins the child in their world, on their level. As they play, the child may become less guarded and more apt to share their feelings. But they aren’t pressured. They’re allowed to do so in their own time and with their own method of communication.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
My clients describe me as professional, yet down to earth, empathetic, and funny.
Describe the client(s) you are best positioned to serve.
I work with children and adolescents age 4-17, specifically those experiencing anxiety, trauma, and behavioral difficulties. Therapy should be fun and engaging for your child, so I often incorporate play and art. Play therapy utilizes play, which is a child's natural medium of expression, to help them express their feelings more easily through toys instead of words. I use a combination of directive and non-directive play therapy with elements of TF-CBT, EFT Tapping, and EMDR.