Specialties
Parenting Support
My goal is to help parents acquire and implement practical and manageable strategies to make parenting less stressful and more enjoyable. In many situations (for example when a child has been diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder), parenting can be extremely demanding and feel relentless. Parenting is challenging for everyone. Let's work together so you have the skills and support to make it feel less overwhelming - I love helping families thrive, not just survive! Treatment approaches include Parent Management Training and modified Parent-Child Interaction Therapy.
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Does your child have difficulty paying attention, struggle to maintain focus, or seem to lack planning or organizational skills? Maybe they seem to be constantly moving or blurting out, interrupting others. Perhaps they often daydream or frequently misplace their things. ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders affecting children, typically causing impairment in functioning at home and school. ADHD can have many challenges, and I am passionate about helping parents better understand how to support their children with ADHD as well as support their kids and teens as they learn and successfully implement executive functioning strategies to help them manage their ADHD and realize their maximum potential. I also work with aduts on these same issues.
Anxiety Disorders, OCD, and Mood Disorders
Anxiety disorders are common in children, adolescents, and adults, and may present as worry, fear, irritability, or anger. Other common symptoms of anxiety may include trouble sleeping, separating from caregivers (in children), and physical complaints such as headaches and stomachaches. Anxiety may be generalized to many situations or may be a specific phobia. Treatment is guided by CBT and is tailored and personalized to each individual.
Mood disorders such as depression are often associated with feelings of hopelessness, inadequacy, guilt, helplessness, and low self-esteem. Individuals may withdraw from friends or family, exhibit decreased energy, and have changes in sleep and appetite (either eating/sleeping more or less than before). Treatment typically utilizes CBT and may include ACT and motivational interviewing as appropriate.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized by recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that cause distress. Individuals perform compulsive behaviors as an attempt to try and ignore or suppress these upsetting thoughts. This may be seen as repetitive behaviors such as hand washing, counting, or repeating words silently, but can take numerous other less obvious forms. Individuals may ask repeatedly for reassurance or may insist that others in the family engage in certain behaviors or do things in a certain way/order. OCD causes significant distress and often interferes with an individual's functioning both at home and at school, as well as impacting the family dynamic. Treatment utilizes ERP to help the individual begin to tolerate their stressors, as well as working with parents to begin decreasing reassurance given and help their child learn to tolerate uncertainty.
