Practice Description
I have over 23 years of experience working with adolescents age 12 and up, adult individuals (both male & female), couples, and families. I continue to see all of these clients in my practice.
Additionally, a special area of interest for me is working with teenagers & their parents to decrease conflict and increase positive communication and cooperation. Following is a brief description of how I work with these clients.
I provide a place for teens to be completely open & honest with their feelings and thoughts, without judgement or admonishment, while helping them learn to make wise choices with an eye towards the future. While parents generally have the best intentions of providing this at home, the natural developmental need of the adolescent is to move away from relying on their parents. But most still need adult guidance from someone they have no need to rebel against. My goal in working with teenagers is to help them appropriately assert their individuality and independence, while owning their responsibilities in school and at home. Additionally, I encourage teens to see their parents as loving and caring people who are invaluable resources of wisdom, support, and encouragement.
I also work with the parents of adolescents to provide insight and understanding about their teenager as well as valuable parenting tools. It's a tricky balancing act to raise a teenager. They need room to make choices and learn about themselves in the process, yet they also need structure and accountability. When & how to provide that freedom and when & how to rein it in is a constant struggle parents universally encounter. I help parents navigate through that challenge. In addition, I encourage parents to see their teenagers as works in progress, with all their most loveable attributes still intact, but masked by a complicated mix of emotions which they are struggling to understand themselves.