Change is stressful and adolescence is a period of enormous change - especially so these days with the pandemic, social media, gender politics, and looming concerns about the future. Many, many teens today feel overwhelmed by pressure. Struggling with depression, anxiety, self-harm, relationship problems, drugs, alcohol and academic problems is common. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that by 2021 49.5% of adolescents in the U.S. had a mental disorder, with females, LGBTQIA, and multiracial individuals at the highest risk. If you are a teen or the parent of a teen in pain and looking for a way forward, I can help. I began work as a counseling psychotherapist in 1994. Since then I've helped many adolescents, adults, couples, and parents ease their suffering and overcome problems such as these. My effectiveness as a helper comes from 1) listening carefully to understand your concerns and experience 2) non-judgementally accepting you as you are 3) knowing that you are the expert on you and planning treatment collaboratively with you to achieve your goals. 4) Providing the tools of skills training and coaching to empower you to heal and thrive For me, it's all about knowing that my clients don't need to be fixed. They need to be understood, accepted, provided with effective tools for solving their problems and trusted to overcome their difficulties in a way that works for them so they can feel better, function better and begin living life as they choose to. My approach is straightforward and built on compassion and evidence-based techniques.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
In our first session, we'll briefly introduce ourselves and I'll outline informed consent - rights and limits of therapy; my approach to therapy, and an explanation of the treatment process from beginning to completion. Then I'll listen carefully to understand as much as I can about what brings you to therapy, your challenges, your strengths, and your goals.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
My main strengths are treating anxiety and depression, parenting problems, adoption issues, and adolescent behavioral crises including non-suicidal self-injury. CBT and DBT are particularly effective in treating these problems. By learning and practicing mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness. stress tolerance and emotional regulation you can first identify and then manage or change thoughts, feelings and negative behaviors that cause you pain, or difficulty functioning in relationships and your daily life.