The teenage years are a time of immense development, growth, and change. While such a time can be exciting, it can also be riddled with anxiety, uncertainty, and confusion. This can lead to challenges with emotions, relationships, academic success, self-confidence, identity confusion, and more. If you’ve noticed your teen experiencing difficulties in these (or other) areas, they may benefit from additional support in the form of therapy.

My dedication to working with and supporting teens is rooted in my appreciation for them. I continue to be inspired by their energy, open-mindedness, creativity, and resilience. It is exciting to utilize their inherent strengths and support them in reaching their goals.

I utilize an affirming, strengths-based, relational approach in my work with youth. We are relational beings and the relationships we have influence how we feel about ourselves, others, and the world. Strong and secure relationships, including the therapeutic relationship, provide a space for development, growth, and change. Therefore, my initial objective in working with youth is to establish a secure and trusting relationship.

Once such a relationship is established, I incorporate art, play, mindfulness, and conversation to support your teen in meeting their therapeutic goals. I frequently work with teens to achieve:

• Increased ability to understand and express emotions

• Increased ability to utilize effective coping strategies

• Increased ability to form and maintain meaningful relationships

• Increased frustration tolerance

• Increased self-confidence and self-esteem

• Decreased symptoms of depression

• Decreased symptoms of anxiety

• Identity development and understanding

• Increased focus and confidence

• Increased ability to cope with academic stress

• Exploration of cultural and societal issues

• Moving towards feeling increased fulfillment in life

Working with teens also involves working with their parents. My work with the parents of teens depends on the unique needs of each individual teen. We will decide together how we will collaborate to best meet the needs of parents and their youth.