Compassionate, Collaborative, Wellness-Based Therapy for Children, Adolescents & Families.
Parents seek therapy for their children for a variety of reasons; therapy, in turn, offers more benefits than many parents realize. While generally considered an intervention in response to a problem, therapy can be equally beneficial as a proactive measure to support the social-emotional development of your child or relational wellness of your family.
Individual Therapy
Families often seek support when going through a difficult life event or transition, or out of concern for their child's emotional well-being. Common concerns may include:
A recent change in behavior or mood
Difficulty with peer or family relationships
Trouble managing behaviors or emotions
High levels of stress or anxiety
Frequent feelings of sadness, irritability, or anger
Signs of low self-esteem
Withdrawal or loss of interest in previously-enjoyed activities
Trouble developing age-appropriate social-emotional skills
Therapy offers a safe and supportive environment to explore these concerns and uncover the root of the problem in order to effectively address it. Together, we can develop a plan to support your child or teen through the challenge at hand.
My interventions and style are tailored to individual needs, but building a genuine, trusting, and supportive relationship is at the foundation of my work. Sessions may include a combination of talk, play, art, and movement, as well as other activities that create a safe space and facilitate the therapeutic process.
In addition to working through the presenting problem, I focus on skill development and wellness-based practices, such as mindfulness. Strong social-emotional skills are proven predictors of success in all domains of life: school, work, family, and social relationships. Youth who develop skills like self-awareness, self-regulation, and problem solving are more likely to develop healthy connections to other people, are more resilient in the face of stress and, in turn, experience greater health and happiness as they develop.
Individual therapy sessions generally take place on a weekly basis, but the frequency, length, and location of therapy is tailored to your child's needs.
Family Support
When working with youth, caregiver involvement is crucial. You know your child best, and you are the most important person in your child's life. Parenting can be a wonderful, fulfilling experience, and can also feel like and overwhelming responsibility. My job is to help you succeed.
In addition to individual sessions with your child or teen, I will meet with you on a regular basis. While I may see your child for an hour per week, therapy will be of much greater value if we communicate regularly and work together to ensure that gains made during therapy can be sustained outside of sessions and after therapy has ended.
Parent and family sessions can take many forms:
Joint parent and child sessions focused on the child and/or the parent-child relationship
Parent check-ins pre- or post-session regarding your child’s progress
Parent sessions focused on self-care or parenting strategies
Family sessions
This is a collaborative process in which we put our expertise together and build on existing strengths. I aim to create a space that is safe for shared reflection and new perspectives, and will offer ideas and strategies that can help you understand and support your child. I'm also a strong advocate of self-care, both as a means of managing your own stress and wellness and for the purpose of modeling and scaffolding your child's social-emotional development.
About Me
I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a Masters Degree from the University of Southern California (USC) and more than ten years of experience working with youth and families. In addition to private practice, I am a family clinician at Edgewood Center for Children and Families. Prior to joining Edgewood I was a consultant and clinician with UCSF HEARTS (Healthy Environments and Response to Trauma in Schools) in the Division of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychiatry at UCSF - Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. As part of the HEARTS team, I helped schools develop trauma-informed models of practice through training and consultation, and provided therapy services for students and families in the school community.
Before joining UCSF, I was asked to serve as part of the Recovery Project at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, providing trauma support in response to the tragedy that occurred in December 2012. Before moving to Connecticut, I spent several years as a school and community-based therapist in South Central Los Angeles.
I have experience working in a variety of settings and with a range of issues, including trauma and chronic stress, grief and loss, depression, anxiety, and life transitions.
In my practice I work with children, adolescents, and transitional age youth. My approach is collaborative and strengths-based. I take a developmental and systems perspective to understand youth and families in context, and draw from the latest research in attachment theory and neurobiology to inform my work and empower my clients.
Ultimately, I focus on wellness. My aim isn't just to relieve symptoms: it’s to help youth develop the tools to live happy, healthy, connected lives. With this in mind, I aim to create a safe space for shared reflection, build on existing strengths, and offer new tools to promote self-understanding, growth, and social and emotional resilience.