New to Grow
I am a child and adolescent psychologist with over 16 years of experience in treatment of youth ages 7-18 who have experienced trauma, adverse experiences, and/or stressful or challenging life events. My focus is to help clients be their own agents of change to help them move forward, empower them to gain control over trauma reactions, and foster their resilience. I focus on evidence-based approaches to treat trauma, PTSD/complex PTSD, and associated symptoms, and adjust treatment according to the client's specific needs. I treat trauma related symptoms and reactions stemming from a wide range of stressful events including physical or sexual abuse or assault; maltreatment or neglect; domestic or community violence; motor vehicle accidents; serious injuries; natural disasters; grief or loss; medical trauma and more. Prior to private practice, I was a Clinical Associate Professor at Stanford where I directed the Stress and Resilience Clinic. I was part of the development team for Cue-Centered Therapy (CCT), an intervention combining cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with an insight-based approach for youth with complex trauma. I provide teaching and training both nationally and internationally.
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
In my initial intake, I will meet with both the youth and caregiver to discuss expectations, the structure of therapy, and assess treatment goals. I then meet with the youth and caregiver separately to gather background information and assess symptoms (ie. how have the traumatic experiences been impacting the youth) and usually supplement this with administration of standardized measures to better evaluate symptom severity and be able to track treatment progress. I will then meet with the youth and caregiver together at the end of the evaluation, to provide the assessment results and discuss the recommended treatment plan.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
I believe in a collaborative approach to therapy in which I equip youth and their families with knowledge and skills to empower them to be their own agents of change. Following my experience with research and development of an intervention for complex trauma in youth, teaching, and treating hundreds of traumatized youths, I have a deep understanding of the principles of trauma interventions as well as how to adjust them to the specific circumstances of the child.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
I treat children and adolescents ages 7-18 who have been exposed to a traumatic event, adverse experience, or major life stressor that is causing them emotional distress and functional impairment. For successful engagement in trauma focused therapy, the client should be able to acknowledge the trauma, be willing to talk about it, and be motivated for change. While I work primarily with the child/adolescent individually, trauma-focused therapy also involves having a caregiver that is able to participate in some sessions of the therapy and support their child. The therapy is flexible in terms of the level of caregiver involvement.
Trauma-Focused CBT
I have extensive experience with trauma-focused therapy having used it with a wide range of traumas in youth. I was part of a team at Stanford that developed an intervention for youth with complex trauma called, Cue-Centered Therapy (CCT). This therapy is based on the gold-standard research for interventions for traumatized youth and includes the core components that are known to be effective for treatment of trauma symptoms and associated conditions including psychoeducation, development of coping skills, processing of the traumatic experiences, exposure to trauma cues and emotional and cognitive processing. This type of therapy helps clients to learn skills to manage their reactions to trauma and trauma reminders.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
CBT based approaches are the gold-standard for treatment of trauma in youth. As such, I primarily use trauma-focused therapy that is rooted in the principles of CBT to help educate clients and their families about trauma responses, teach coping skills to manage those responses and help them process their traumatic experiences and related emotions, cognitions, physiological reactions and behaviors.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
I incorporate elements of ACT as needed into my practice as it can be a powerful tool to help clients gain psychological flexibility and to be able to navigate life's challenges with greater ease and resilience. ACT supports clients impacted by trauma through making space for difficult thoughts and emotions, staying grounded in the present, and reconnecting with personal values so they can move toward a meaningful life even while carrying the impact of the trauma. This is achieved by introducing mindfulness strategies with behavioral change techniques.