Kids and Teens

​

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has spent the majority of my career working with children, adolescents, parents, and families. Since 1994, I have worked in a variety of settings supporting children and teens with emotional, behavioral, developmental, and mental health challenges. If you would like to learn more about my professional background, I invite you to review my Curriculum Vitae.

​

Over the years, I have served as a special education school therapist, DIR/Floortime therapist, autism educator, and respite worker for children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder. I have extensive experience working with children and adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), separation anxiety, other anxiety disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

​

One of my special interests and areas of expertise is working with children and teens who have autism and co-occurring anxiety disorders, including OCD, phobias, panic disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. Research and clinical experience consistently show that these diagnoses frequently occur together, and treatment is often most effective when it takes into account the unique ways anxiety and OCD can present in autistic individuals.

​

In addition to treating anxiety and OCD, I help children and teens develop executive functioning skills, including organization, planning, time management, task initiation, and problem-solving. I enjoy helping young people navigate the often-complicated world of friendships, peer relationships, and social challenges while building confidence and self-esteem.

​

A major focus of my work is helping children and adolescents develop emotion regulation, cognitive flexibility, distress tolerance, and resilience. Cognitive flexibility is the ability to adapt to challenges, consider different perspectives, tolerate uncertainty, and persist even when situations feel difficult or uncomfortable. I am passionate about helping young people build grit, determination, self-reliance, and independence—skills that will serve them throughout their lives.

​

Because children do not exist in isolation, therapy is often a family endeavor. Meaningful and lasting change frequently requires collaboration with parents and caregivers. I work closely with families to help them better understand their child's needs, strengthen parent-child relationships, and create environments that support growth and emotional well-being.

​

At heart, I consider myself a child development specialist. My understanding of child development informs every aspect of my clinical work. Whether I am working with a child, an adolescent, a parent, or an entire family system, I approach treatment through a child-centered lens. I am particularly passionate about helping children develop secure attachments with their parents and caregivers because strong, healthy relationships are one of the most powerful protective factors in a child's life.

​​

My goal as a therapist is to provide a warm, collaborative, evidence-based approach that helps children, teens, adults, and families build stronger relationships, overcome challenges, and create meaningful, lasting change.