Individual Therapy with Children & Adolescents (5 - 17 years)

I work from a trauma informed & strength-based framework that is grounded in an understanding of the impact of trauma on a persons brain, body and nervous system. This means I emphasize safety for everyone I work with. This also means that I believe you are the expert about your child, and your child is the expert in their own life. I believe that you and your child have within you what it takes to face and overcome challenges. My hope for our work together is to provide a safe space where you can feel empowered in your caregiving role, and where your child can express their thoughts and feelings, and learn more about themselves, while discovering their strengths through the process. My work with children and adolescents often includes support with anxiety, gender diversity, depression, trauma, self-esteem, social skills, emotional regulation, neurodiversity (autism, ADHD, etc.), grief/bereavement and many other concerns. Usually the process involves some art creation, somatic approaches, mindfulness and narrative practices.

Children 5- 12 years

If your child is below 12 years of age, we will meet together without your child for an initial consultation. During this meeting, we will discuss the intake form that I will have you complete prior to the session that asks you several questions about the history of your concerns, personal information about your family, your child’s developmental history, their relationships, and your goals and expectations for therapy. You will have an opportunity to share more about what is bringing you to therapy at this time, to explore your concerns, and to talk about your child’s strengths. Together we will collaborate on unique goals and a plan for your child’s therapy. I will spend the first 1-5 sessions getting to know your child, and assessing their initial engagement with the process and openness to our determined goals. This will allow me to assess whether psychotherapy is a good fit.  After the 4th or 5th session I recommend that we have a caregiver consultation session without your child, where you can share your initial thoughts about the process, your child’s reactions, and any feedback about how I can best support your family. I will share feedback about your child’s response and engagement as well as my initial assessment regarding our goals. From here, we will adjust or confirm a plan for moving forward. 

Adolescent 12 -17 years

If your child is 12yrs - 17 years they maybe considered a mature minor who can consent to therapy on their own. Generally, my hope is to involve the caregivers in some ways when a child is between 12-15 years, which may include completing an intake form or having caregiver(s) join an intake session while also maintaining your childs’ confidentiality and privacy.

The frequency of subsequent therapy sessions and feedback meetings will be determined by your goals and the specific needs or preferences of your family, however ideally we will meet weekly or bi-weekly in the beginning and then can shift to monthly.

Once we mutually agree that you and your child’s goals for therapy have been met, we will determine an appropriate time frame for ending our work together.  I like to involve your child in this process so that we can celebrate the work that they have done in their therapy and give space for them to share any feelings they have about it ending. Many clients prefer to do this slowly by reducing the number of sessions and some return periodically during challenging times later in life for a “tune up”. Please know this process will be very transparent and we will work together to determine what is best for your child.

If you’re curious to know more about my approach, or how I may be able to support your child/family please connect with me to book a free phone consultation.