About
Our approach to individual therapy is informed by science and personalized to fit the context of your life or your child’s life. This means that therapy feels accessible and fosters growth and real change for individuals of all ages.
When we first meet with a client, we listen to concerns, learn more about who they are as a person, what their life looks like, and discuss goals for therapy. This information is used to create a roadmap for our work together. Sessions incorporate acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and mindfulness for clients of all ages. An important goal of these therapies is to help individuals gain insight into their thoughts, emotions, and behavior, and make changes to improve wellbeing.
In our work with children, we closely partners with parents as part of the therapeutic process so they can reinforce skills at home and share feedback. For younger children, this typically includes brief parent check-ins each session. For adolescents, parental involvement is often less intensive, though ongoing communication and periodic in-person check-ins with parents remain valuable.
We also work closely with other clinical providers and schools (if needed) to ensure collaborative and coordinated care. We frequently work with primary care providers, psychiatrists, neurologists, occupational therapists, and registered dietitians.
Brief and Solution-Focused Therapy
In addition to offering a more traditional therapeutic course of evidenced-based therapy (lasting 12+ weeks), we can offer brief and solution-focused therapy for clients. This model generally consists of between two and eight sessions and is designed to address targeted concerns. The duration of treatment is more fully outlined up front, following an intake appointment, so clients have a sense of what they will work on each session from the start. The overall goal is to equip clients with the tools and confidence to handle specific symptoms and stressors—taking what you learn in the therapy room and applying it to your everyday life—using a direct and efficient approach.
Solution-focused therapy can be an effective approach depending on the nature and duration of the presenting concerns and an individual’s or family’s desired goals for therapy. Examples of concerns for which this can be a good fit include: mild to moderate anxiety, specific phobias, mild mood symptoms, behavioral management for ADHD, health behavior change, chronic pain, coping with general stress, and challenging life transitions or experiences, among others.
Ultimately, weI work together with clients to determine which approach is best. Individuals may have a sense of what they are looking for prior to beginning therapy, and the treatment process is easily adapted and personalized to meet a person’s needs.
Common conditions treated
Adults
Anxiety (such as generalized worry, social anxiety, specific phobias)
Depression, low mood, and shame
Obsessive-compulsive disorder and other impulse control disorders
Anger and emotion regulation issues
Adjustment difficulties and general stress management
Grief and loss
Chronic and acute health conditions such as chronic pain, insomnia, infertility, GI disorders, weight management, autoimmune conditions, genetic conditions, cancer
Interpersonal difficulties (at work or home)
Children and Adolescents
Anxiety (generalized worries, social anxiety, specific phobias)
School refusal
Depression, low mood, and shame
Obsessive-compulsive disorder and other impulse control disorders
Hyperactive/noncompliant behavior
Anger and emotion regulation issues
Adjustment difficulties and general stress management
Grief and loss
Chronic and acute health conditions such as pain, insomnia, GI disorders, weight management, autoimmune conditions, genetic conditions, cancer
More about Evidenced-Based Therapies
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is designed to help people live a rich and meaningful life, consistent with personal values. ACT helps individuals increase their level of flexibility, while also learning how to acknowledge—rather than avoid—painful emotions or experiences. As individuals internalize an acceptance mindset, difficult emotions or experiences become less overwhelming, and we are able to shape a healthy emotional self. Read more about ACT.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most well-researched and well-supported therapeutic model for children, teens, and adults. This approach helps individuals gain insight into their thoughts and emotions and work toward adaptive behavioral change. Specifically CBT focuses quite a bit on helping individuals recognize and shift irrational thoughts which otherwise keep them feeling stuck. Read more about CBT.
Mindfulness is a secular practice that helps people become more aware of or attuned to their everyday experiences. If a person is more aware of what is happening in their own mind, body, and external environment, they may be better equipped to respond in a way that is consistent with their values. Over time, mindfulness can help individuals build durable personal resources to navigate challenges across contexts and throughout life. I use it routinely in therapy as a complementary method.