Therapy
Individual Therapy
Teens (12-17)
Adults (18+)
I love working with teen clients and supporting young people in developing skills to live their best lives, and I know that a strong therapeutic alliance is key in teen therapy. I also know that better treatment outcomes (longer lasting change) result from involving parents in a teen’s treatment in whatever capacity is appropriate and supportive. Depending on the teen’s age and therapeutic needs; parents may be asked to be involved in every session, occasional sessions with the teen and/or separate sessions focused on parent psycoeducation and skill-building.
Whether you are seeking therapy for support with a specific mental health issue like OCD or depression or if you are looking for new tools to manage work stress, family dynamics or rediscover your purpose in life, therapy always starts with a comprehensive assessment and formulation of a treatment plan tailored to fit your needs and goals. I know from both personal and professional experience that the best results occur through the practice of new skills both in and outside of sessions. Let’s get to work! Are you ready?
Good therapy is based on good assessment. During our first session(s), I will gather details from you about the problems that are currently impacting your life, as well as information about your history, family, relationships, school/career and health in order to understand you as a whole person. I will also have you complete some standardized assessments about specific symptoms and severity before or during our first session. This will help us to develop the best treatment plan to meet your needs.
Assesment
Specializations
I have received specialized training and have been working extensively with OCD since 2018. If you are locked into a cycle of obsessions and compulsions, we will use the tools of Exposure and Response Prevention and the principles of ACT to help you align with your life with your values and find freedom from the debilitating cycle.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Depression can involve many symptoms; a lack of motivation, endless cycles of negative thoughts, and disengagement with the people and activities that are important to you. We will use evidence-based practices like CBT, DBT and ACT to get you reconnected with yourself and back to living a life that has meaning to you.
Depression
I use evidence-based practices to support people with a variety of anxious conditions such as generalized anxiety (constant worry and feeling “on edge”), social anxiety (preoccupation with how others perceive you), separation anxiety (extreme fear and avoidance related to separating from a parent or other loved one), panic: (frightening physiological sensations and feelings of doom) or phobias (intense fear and avoidance of a particular thing or situation such as needles, air travel or vomiting). ERP in combination with ACT and some general CBT principles are highly effective in helping you to live a life not bound by fear and worry.
Anxiety
Learning to live your best life with ADHD means accepting that your brain is wired differently than the neurotypical brain and that may make living within societal expectations feel almost impossible at times. With an affirming approach, I will help you to develop skills and habits that will keep you on track, while deepening your self-compassion and maybe even discover a new path or life-goal in the process. *This practice does not offer comprehensive ADHD assessment or testing.
ADHD
CBT looks at the interplay of thoughts (cognitions), behaviors and emotions. Through this modality, we will identify areas where we can slowly start to shift behaviors and learn different ways of thinking about situations in order to improve mental health and emotional wellbeing. CBT has demonstrated efficacy in treating depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions.
Under the umbrella of CBT, ERP is the gold standard treatment for OCD and anxiety disorders. In this modality, we will deepen your understanding of the nature of anxiety or obsessions, identify triggering situations and together practice skills of bravely “leaning in,” and teaching yourself that reliance on compulsions or safety behaviors is unnecessary.
ACT, pronounced “act,” is a newer therapeutic modality that supports individuals in committing to their values while learning and practicing mindfulness to accept what we do not have control over instead of struggling against it. ACT has been show to be effective in helping people to live more fulfilling and functional lives even when mental health conditions are present.
Also under the umbrella of CBT, DBT was developed by psychologist Marsha Linehan after her own experience of debilitating psychological symptoms. DBT combines eastern spiritual philosophies with western CBT principles and involves the learning and practice of specific skills to more effectively deal with problems. *I do not offer comprehensive DBT in this practice, but I do draw on the skills and fundamentals often to support clients with various challenges.
SPACE stands for Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions and is the first evidence-backed treatment developed to treat childhood anxiety and OCD by working only with parents. Developed by Dr. Eli Lebowitz at the Yale Child Study Center, SPACE is a manualized protocol of 8-12 sessions that supports parents in improving communication with their child while systematically changing their own actions to stop “feeding” the OCD or anxiety. SPACE has been shown to be as effective in reducing children’s symptoms as providing CBT directly to the child. *In this practice, SPACE is offered as a stand-alone treatment, or in conjunction with teen therapy. I am also trained in and offer SPACE FTL (failure to launch) for parents of adults. I also offer SPACE in group format and through workshops.
Before deciding to work primarily in the modalities listed above, I was trained in Person-Centered Therapy, Expressive Arts Therapy and Play Therapy. I still draw from these approaches where useful and beneficial. For example, I strive to uphold the 3 main principles of Person-Centered Therapy (empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard) in every session with every client I meet with. I may suggest a creative modality like drawing, acting or writing to support various therapeutic goals. Similarly, play may be used especially with younger clients, as a language and a way of connecting that can also be used to support problem-solving and skill development.
SPACE
SPACE stands for Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions and is the first evidence-backed treatment developed to treat childhood anxiety and OCD by working only with parents. Developed by Dr. Eli Lebowitz at the Yale Child Study Center, SPACE is a manualized protocol of 8-12 sessions that supports parents in improving communication with their child while systematically changing their own actions to stop “feeding” the OCD or anxiety. SPACE has been shown to be as effective in reducing children’s symptoms as providing CBT directly to the child. *In this practice, SPACE is offered as a stand-alone treatment (for parents of kids of any age), or in conjunction with teen therapy. I am also trained in and offer SPACE FTL (failure to launch) for parents of adults. I also offer SPACE in group format and through workshops.
I embrace diversity in my practice and work to continually examine and acknowledge issues of power, privilege and systemic oppression. During my years of therapeutic work, I have worked extensively with people in the Black, Latin(x), API and LGBTQ+ communities, including transgender and gender-variant individuals. This is a transgender and neurodiversity affirming practice.
