I offer: Parent and Child Coaching, Child and Adolescent Therapy, and Adult Psychotherapy.
Parent-Child Coaching and Therapy
Throughout my 20 years of professional practice and training, I have utilized the PCIT (Parent-Child-Interaction-Therapy) model to help parents and families achieve harmony and stability by decreasing disruptive behaviors in young children and increasing the positive attachment and relationship that parents experience with their children. The PCIT model involves live coaching through direct observation and “bug in the ear” coaching for parents. I provide coaching and support, inspired by the PCIT model.
IN HOME OBSERVATION AND ASSESSMENT
Through virtual technology, an initial assessment of you and your child is conducted through guided play activities. This initial assessment allows me to observe how your child responds to self directed play, parent directed play and clean up. By observing you and your child in a “natural” setting (your home), a tailored treatment plan, with specific behavioral goals is quickly and easily developed.
LIVE PARENT COACHING
After developing specific behavioral treatment goals, a parents-only training session is offered, during which positive parenting skills are taught and discussed. Following this training session, subsequent sessions include both parents and children together. During these sessions, I provide live, in the moment parent coaching through an earpiece, while observing you and your child directly.
ONGOING FAMILY CONSULTATION
I offer parent consultation in between sessions to review behavioral goals, answer questions about specific real life scenarios and provide guidance regarding behavioral interventions.
Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy
When working with older children and teens, I rely on a combination of CBT (Cognitive-Behavioral-Therapy) interventions and talk therapy to achieve meaningful therapeutic change. Areas of expertise include Anxiety, Depression, Divorce, Self-Esteem, Grief and Loss and Disruptive Behavior Disorders. Many years of working with children and adolescents have taught me that empirically validated interventions combined with meaningfully developed relationships produce the quickest and most valuable changes for youth and their families.
Adult Psychotherapy
In my work with adult clients, I am informed by my experience as both a Clinical Psychologist and a Life Coach, resulting in a treatment approach that is practical, solution-focused and often consisting of goals and action steps towards change. I believe that understanding psychological barriers to change is the first step towards healing. However, progress is only achieved when insight is coupled with actionable steps towards change. I blend psychological and coaching interventions effectively to help support long lasting changes in both mindset and patterns of behavior. See Wellness Worth Living for additional information.
Therapy in the Virtual Space
One of the most common observations that parents have made when bringing their children to a therapy office is that their children are often far better behaved than they are in their home environment. So often I have heard parents make comments such as, “I’ve never seen him this well behaved” or “If she was like this all of the time, I wouldn’t need your help.”
For several years, the Covid-19 Pandemic forced everyone into their homes and away from traditional therapy offices. And while this created unprecedented challenges for many families, it also presented a unique opportunity for in-home observation and coaching. By observing families directly in their own homes, many of the target behaviors for which families sought treatment were evident in the first observational session. In addition, factors such as the addition of a sibling or pet into the conflict, became immediately accessible as well. This has proven to be an invaluable resource for observation and treatment. Family coaching can best be achieved in the natural home environment and, as such, I have shifted my therapy/coaching practice to reflect this.
Through the use of both Video and Phone, I provide direct observation of you and your child/ren in their natural environment (home), while simultaneously providing direct live coaching through an earpiece. These live coaching sessions are augmented with consultation to address specific questions and concerns that arise in between sessions.