You matter.
The teenage years are identified by change. Everything seems to be changing. Relationships with your parents and siblings start feeling different. Your friend circle may change. School might become more difficult. You may start questioning your identity and where you fit into the world. Peer pressure to use substances might become overwhelming. You might find yourself staying home more, anxious to be around people. It might even become difficult to attend classes. You may be the target of bullying, or get into trouble for being a bully yourself. You may struggle with self-esteem or generally not feel good about yourself, your appearance, or your abilities. I'm here to tell you, YOU MATTER. You have goals and dreams and opinions, and I can't wait to hear all of them. You are unique and are meant to have a very specific and unique contribution to this world. Let's learn about you together.
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Self-LoveI believe the most powerful thing you can do for yourself is to learn to really love yourself. This may sound impossible right now. If you've been feeling really low, worrying about things falling apart around you, experiencing fall-out with friends or break-ups with partners, fights with parents, poor grades in school, it might be really hard to think about loving yourself right now. I get that. I can help you put things in perspective, talk through some of the problems you're having, and let you know that, believe it or not, things will be okay. I'll also teach you some exercises to help you discover your uniqueness and special purpose.
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Independence and Family LifeAt this stage of your life, you have a deep desire to be independent and make your own way in the world. You are discovering who you are, and you want the freedom and trust from your family to do that. Maybe your family life is less than ideal. You might come from a single-parent household, a rough neighborhood, a home where you feel alone, unloved, or abused. This time of your life is critical. You are developing mental maps of the world that you will carry into adulthood. I would love to walk with you during this time to process all you are going through. When you can't talk to your parents or even your friends about your problems, you may feel really alone and misunderstood. Let's talk. I won't judge you or make you do anything you don't want to do. But this is real life, and I am a real human being. I will give it to you straight and may even cuss a little when I get passionate, but we will get through it together.
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A message to parents
You know your child best. You know something feels off, but you can't quite put your finger on it. She just isn't the same as before. Something's changed. She doesn't seem happy. She's hanging out with the "wrong" crowd. She's dabbling in alcohol or pot, or maybe worse. Her grades are slipping. She is sick with stomach aches and headaches and is missing school. She doesn't talk to you anymore. Maybe she went through something terrible, like parents' divorce, a death in the family, or a sexual assault, and you know she needs to process it, but she won't talk to you. You're scared. You feel like your little girl is slipping away, and you feel helpless.
MY APPROACH TO WORKING WITH TEENS
I believe the teenage years are one of the most important stages in a woman's life. This is when they find themselves, wrestle with self esteem issues, develop sexual interests, begin to think about career choices, learn what it means to be a friend, and begin to break away in independence from their families. I work from a holistic perspective, focusing on the teenager's physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health and development. We will explore your daughter's thoughts, feelings, habits, and beliefs to find out what is working and what needs tweaking so that she can live a happy, healthy life. I work with your daughter to develop a trusting relationship, where she feels open to tell me what is really going on and is willing to hear and be open to different perspectives and approaches to her problem. I sometimes assign homework to practice coping skills at home and will encourage parent involvement in these cases. Also, I am trained in EMDR, a bi-lateral stimulation technique that helps people incorporate traumatic memories as well as positive beliefs into their mental schemas, which can be effective in processing traumatic events and healing anxiety, substance use, and depression.
LIMITS TO CONFIDENTIALITY
First and foremost, you should know that I grant the same privilege of confidentiality to my teen clients as I do my adult clients. That means I won't tell you everything that your daughter and I talk about in our sessions. This protects your daughter and enables us to build the level of trust that is needed for me to help her. I will absolutely tell you if I think she is in danger of hurting herself or someone else. You, as her parent, absolutely have a right to know about any potential physical danger. Also, my license requires me to be a mandated reporter, which means if I suspect your child may be a victim of child abuse, I do have a legal obligation to report it.
THE PROCESS
Give me a call. Let's talk about your concerns. My goal is to help your child build self-esteem, learn to love herself, and build a strong, trusting relationship with you that will carry her into adulthood. It starts with a call. The initial session will start with you and your daughter together so I can get a good sense of the issues and start formulating some goals. Then, I will see your child in weekly sessions during after school hours. I will check in with you periodically to evaluate progress at home. Raising a child does take a village, and I would be honored to be part of yours.
MY APPROACH TO WORKING WITH TEENS
I believe the teenage years are one of the most important stages in a woman's life. This is when they find themselves, wrestle with self esteem issues, develop sexual interests, begin to think about career choices, learn what it means to be a friend, and begin to break away in independence from their families. I work from a holistic perspective, focusing on the teenager's physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health and development. We will explore your daughter's thoughts, feelings, habits, and beliefs to find out what is working and what needs tweaking so that she can live a happy, healthy life. I work with your daughter to develop a trusting relationship, where she feels open to tell me what is really going on and is willing to hear and be open to different perspectives and approaches to her problem. I sometimes assign homework to practice coping skills at home and will encourage parent involvement in these cases. Also, I am trained in EMDR, a bi-lateral stimulation technique that helps people incorporate traumatic memories as well as positive beliefs into their mental schemas, which can be effective in processing traumatic events and healing anxiety, substance use, and depression.
LIMITS TO CONFIDENTIALITY
First and foremost, you should know that I grant the same privilege of confidentiality to my teen clients as I do my adult clients. That means I won't tell you everything that your daughter and I talk about in our sessions. This protects your daughter and enables us to build the level of trust that is needed for me to help her. I will absolutely tell you if I think she is in danger of hurting herself or someone else. You, as her parent, absolutely have a right to know about any potential physical danger. Also, my license requires me to be a mandated reporter, which means if I suspect your child may be a victim of child abuse, I do have a legal obligation to report it.
THE PROCESS
Give me a call. Let's talk about your concerns. My goal is to help your child build self-esteem, learn to love herself, and build a strong, trusting relationship with you that will carry her into adulthood. It starts with a call. The initial session will start with you and your daughter together so I can get a good sense of the issues and start formulating some goals. Then, I will see your child in weekly sessions during after school hours. I will check in with you periodically to evaluate progress at home. Raising a child does take a village, and I would be honored to be part of yours.