How Does Therapy Help?

I provide individual and family based therapy for preschoolers, grade school children, adolescents, and adults. I offer short term or long term therapy for a wide variety of difficulties and concerns. A partial list of issues includes:

• depression
• anxiety
• irritability
• difficulty managing and self-regulating emotions
• improving social skills
• providing support relating to and managing symptoms of high functioning autism or Asperger’s
• difficulty making friends or breaking through feelings of shyness
• managing shyness
• understanding and reducing oppositional and defiant behavior
• responding to experiences of bullying
• fostering self-esteem
• improving communication at home, among siblings or family members
• difficulty focusing and staying organized
• improving problem-solving strategies
• processing difficult, confusing, or upsetting experiences
• understanding and managing reactions from a history of trauma or abuse

Just as therapy can be helpful in a variety of different ways, there are a variety of different kinds of therapy available. The kind that works best for you or your child depends on different factors, including temperament, age, or the way you process feelings, thoughts, and experiences. Sometimes, it can be helpful to use words to understand and process your emotions. Other times, it can be helpful to learn more about your body’s responses, and how to manage them. People of all ages might find that art, often combined with talk therapy, is a powerful and effective way to learn more about managing and understanding feelings. Children, in particular, frequently use play as their mode of expression, and benefit from play-based therapy. 

As a therapist, I have experience and training in moving between these different modalities. For example, I might use cognitive behavioral therapy mixed with play therapy or art therapy with your child, to best engage them as I help them benefit from the many different ways to process their feelings and make changes in their lives, and I might include periodic family sessions as needed. If you are looking for therapy for yourself, we might find that a cognitive short-term therapy strategies would be most appropriate and effective for you.