Veronica Hamilton
I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor in Pennsylvania who provides clinical care to children, adolescents, adults, and families through telehealth. My practice is grounded in trauma-informed, person-centered care, through utilizing an eclectic approach to tailor interventions to each individual. I specialize in clients experiencing trauma recovery, LGBTQ+ issues, anxiety, mood concerns, and attachment difficulties, along with general wellbeing and mental health concerns.
First session
Starting your first therapy session is a huge step and can be really anxiety producing, it helps to know what to expect. During our first session we will get to know each other and developing an understanding of therapy. Initial sessions often include many questions, since we're just getting to know each other, but don't worry about having all of the answers or if there are things you are not yet ready to share.
Strengths
One of my biggest strengths is my ability to meet clients where they are, while guiding them towards positive progress. I’m warm, collaborative, and curious about the root cause of the symptoms that are visible to others. I believe that you are the expert of yourself, your child and/or your family, and combining our knowledge and experience together we can create lasting change that will improve your quality of life. I place a lot of value on helping clients understand themselves and how their past experiences influence current life challenges. With children and families especially, I focus on relationships, attachment, communication, and the reasons behind behavior. I want clients to leave sessions feeling understood and with practical tools they can use in their lives.
Ideal clients
My ideal clients are people who are looking to better understand themselves, process their difficult and traumatic experienceds and develop tools that help to improve their day-to-day lives. I especially enjoy working with adolescents and adults who are dealing with trauma, anxiety, mood concerns, relationship difficulties, or feeling stuck in patterns they don’t fully understand. I also enjoy working with parents and families, particularly when a child or teen’s behavior or emotions are creating stress at home. I work best with clients who are open to a collaborative relationship and willing to explore both where their struggles come from and where they want to go from here. My goal is to meet each person where they are, without judgment, and help them move toward feeling more confident, understood, and in control of their lives.
Treatment methods
Trauma Informed Care
I use trauma-informed methods with every client, despite their reported experiences. Trauma informed care is provided by recognizing that a person’s behaviors, emotions, and coping strategies in the context of what they have experienced. I work with clients to explore what may be underneath those patterns and what they need to feel safe and supported. In treatment, trauma informed care means prioritizing trust and emotional safety throughout the duration of treatment. After trust is built, and depending on your readiness, I'll guide you towards direct trauma processing through prompts and questions, you'll always be the in control of the topics and details that you divulge in sessions.
Psychodynamic
I use psychodynamic methods to help clients understand the ongoing patterns and experiences that may be influencing how they think, feel, and relate to others. I’m interested not only in what is happening in a client’s life right now, but also in how past experiences, relationships, attachment patterns, and learned ways of coping may be showing up in the present.
Child Parent Psychotherapy
I use Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) with parents and infants (ages 0-5) to caregivers work through the effects of trauma, stress, and difficult experiences together. CPP is especially effective in situations following domestic violence or other traumatic situations, and when there are major behavioral challenges with preschool aged children.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Thoughts, behaviors and feelings are all connected; while focusing on experiences and emotions can be incredibly valuable, sometimes we need to develop concrete skills to challenge our negative thoughts to help reduce the amount of distress we experience daily.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Internal Family Systems (IFS), helps clients understand that we all have different "parts" of ourselves that can show up in different situations that arise. Rather than viewing these conflicting thoughts, emotions, or behaviors as a problem, I help clients approach those parts with curiosity and compassion. Your parts are serving a purpose and by developing understanding of them through therapy, we can help you develop compassion for those parts that show up in ways you don't like. This can be especially helpful for clients who feel conflicted internally, struggle with self-criticism, or find themselves reacting in ways they don’t fully understand. The goal of IFS is to help clients feel less conflict within themselves and more able to understand and respond to their own needs.
Location
Virtual sessions