Child Counseling

Children with challenging behavior are often misunderstood and mistreated. Rewards and punishments don’t always work and can often make things worse. Thankfully, there’s another way. But it requires a big shift in mindset.

Helping children with challenging behavior requires understanding why they struggle in the first place. Collaborative Problem Solving recognizes that children with challenging behavior are already trying hard. They don’t lack the will to behave well, but instead lack the skills to behave well. CPS focuses on building skills like flexibility, frustration tolerance, and problem solving, rather than simply motivating children to behave better. The process begins with identifying triggers to a child’s challenging behavior and the specific skills they need help developing. The next step involves partnering with the child to build those skills and develop lasting solutions to problems that work for everyone.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an effective treatment for trauma. EMDR is also effective in treating “everyday” memories that are the reason why people have low self-esteem, feelings of powerlessness, and etc.

EMDR enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences. If the system is blocked or imbalanced by the impact of a disturbing event, the emotional wound festers and can cause intense suffering. Once the block is removed, healing resumes.  Using the detailed EMDR protocols and procedures, clinicians help clients activate their natural healing processes.

The term expressive arts refers to any combination of dance, writing, visual arts, drama, music or other creative outlets. Expressive arts therapy is taking these modalities and using them to enhance individual development and growth.

Out of all therapy models I have worked with in my 20 years of practice I have found IFS to be the most successful approach for my clients. It is an evidence-based psychotherapy modality that has helped clients deal with anxiety, depression, trauma, perfectionism, burnout, grief, relationship issues, low self-esteem, and patterns that feel difficult to change.

It acknowledges protective parts of us that help manage daily life, guard against pain, and shield our more vulnerable parts that carry past wounds. At the core of this system is the “Self,” a calm, compassionate, inner presence capable of leading with clarity and care. IFS reduces reactivity and opens our hearts by building a compassionate, trusting, and grounded relationship within ourselves.

The approach is collaborative and non-pathologizing, allowing you to take ownership of your healing process, expand your capacity for self-reflection, and develop skills that help you approach emotional difficulties with calmness, confidence, and clarity.

Why is this approach effective?

• Helps you understand yourself with more compassion
  IFS suggests that everyone has different “parts” of themselves — for example, a critical part, an anxious part, or a people-pleasing part. Instead of judging these reactions, you get curious as to why those parts developed and what they are trying to protect.
• Reduces shame and self-criticism
  IFS sees competing inner needs and desires as a normal phenomenon. For example, a part of you wants independence, and another part wants connection. You will learn to see these opposing tendencies as an attempt for protection and discover effective strategies for getting your needs met.
• Aligns and grounds you
  Clients often describe feeling less “at war” with themselves and more able to experience clarity, balance, and inner calm.
• Builds self-trust, giving you more agency
  IFS gives you insight into the beliefs underlying and dictating your behaviors. With this new understanding, clients are able to create deeper, more sustainable shifts.
• Builds emotional regulation and resilience
  By learning how to relate to difficult emotions with curiosity instead of fear, clients are
  better able to manage stress, anxiety, anger, and overwhelm.
• Improves relationships with others
  As clients better understand their own unmet needs, emotional patterns and protective reactions, communication and connection in personal relationships improve.
• Cultivates a stronger sense of self
  IFS promotes awareness and access to the “Self” – a grounded, calm, compassionate inner state in which people feel more confident, creative, and centered. When we learn to trust our inner wisdom we are no longer swayed by our fears or others’ opinions.
• Respects each client’s pace and autonomy
  Through a loving-inner dialogue clients explore their memories, thoughts, emotions, images, and body sensations with patience and generosity. By providing a non-directive, safe environment, IFS is especially effective for trauma recovery.

The Oaklander Model is a Gestalt approach to play therapy which focuses on the senses, the body, the emotions, and then the intellect. This highly creative and effective model prioritizes the therapist/client relationship and is focused on honoring the child’s process rather than interpreting behaviors. A major focus is to help clients become aware of what they are doing, how they are doing it, and how they can change themselves, and at the same time, to learn to accept and value themselves. What is directly perceived, felt, and experienced is considered more relevant than explanations and interpretations.

Sandplay therapy is a nonverbal, therapeutic intervention that makes use of a sandbox, toy figurines, and sometimes water, to create scenes of miniature worlds that reflect a person’s inner thoughts, struggles, and concerns. This form of play therapy is practiced along with talk therapy, using the sandbox and figurines as communication tools.

Synergetic Play Therapy® (2008) is a researched-informed model of play therapy blending the therapeutic power of play with nervous system regulation, interpersonal neurobiology, physics, attachment, mindfulness, and therapist authenticity. Its primary play therapy influences are Child-Centered, Experiential, and Gestalt theories.