First and foremost, child psychotherapy is very different from adult talk-psychotherapy. Children often have a difficult time verbally expressing exactly what is on their mind and how they are feeling. This is due to their brain development and their brain not being fully developed. I approach children with a play therapy model, which includes particular play items that I have in my office. Each “game” has a designated purpose to help me understand the child. Some children like coming to “play” even though it is not just “play.” The play is their most comfortable method of communication. I give words and meaning to the play, while helping them overcome the conflict and frustration during the play.

Parent contact is crucial when working with children. Parents, you are with your child the majority of the time and can help me understand what is going on outside of the “play” and what the play may mean. Knowing what goes on at home helps me understand the child’s internal world and where I can support the child. Parent sessions vary from child to child and can range from weekly to once a month check-ins.

When working with children my goal is for them to develop their internal coping skills to manage their anxieties but also to verbalize and communicate their feelings with their parents and adults (teachers) around them.

I work with a variety of different issues, but a majority include:

Acting out at school or recent change or decline in grades

Conflict with parents and siblings

Death, grief and loss

Difficulty individuating and sleeping in their own bed

Difficulty making friends

Difficulty focusing and sitting still

Family change, such as divorce, separation or remarriage

Fear and worries

Frequently crying or anger outbursts

Low frustration tolerance

Trauma experience

Adolescent psychotherapy is also very different from child and adult psychotherapy. One major factor includes the brain not fully being developed, but more developed then a child’s brain. Adolescents do not have a working and fully developed pre-frontal cortex, which is the rational thinking part of the brain. The pre-frontal cortex does not fully come online until early to mid-twenties. This may explain questions regarding impulsivity and lack of decision making skills. In my work, I support adolescents in their decision making capacity, brining awareness to their pre-frontal cortex and recognizing their impulsivities. If one is not aware of their challenges there is no way to change or improve them.

Parent contact is also key in adolescent psychotherapy, whether they are weekly sessions or once a month check-ins, depends on each individual adolescents. Confidentiality is also key to an adolescents success in therapy, which will be discussed further in the first session.

The majority of adolescent issues include:

Defiance

Family changes, such as divorce, separation or remarriage

Fears and worries

Parent-child conflict

Peer or relationship difficulties

Performance anxiety- test taking or athletic worries

Sadness or depression

Substance use

Traumatic experiences

Unknown or recent change or decline in grades

Adult psychotherapy is different for everyone and the goals they are trying to achieve. For some it may be wanting to improve your self esteem, managing anxiety and or functioning at a higher emotional or professional level. For others, you may find yourself not being happy and/or endured an extremely stressful event that has impaired the self.

In therapy, we will work together at your pace, to understand the inner you, to build your internal strength capacity and be happy with the self. As you may or may not know, this is a process and takes time and effort. Sometimes you may leave session feeling happy and fulfilled while other times may be the opposite. It is imperative though that you communicate those feelings with me. Together, we will develop a plan to help you reach your goals and become a better you.