Services
Children
Since play is the language of children, play therapy is a natural way for kids to express what is often beyond the reach of their conscious minds. I love to play, and find great joy in engaging children in play therapy as it helps them relax and to learn more about themselves. We play games, imagine other worlds and ways of being, and make art or music to attend to thoughts and feelings that may not otherwise get acknowledged. Play therapy helps children to get in touch with feelings they had no names for, to learn self-regulating skills, to increase their sense of efficacy and self-esteem, and help them make and sustain better connections at school and with friends and family.
Adolescents
Adolescence is an exciting phase of life when so much is happening with the body and brain that it is sometimes hard for an individual person to keep up with the changes. Adolescents often find themselves wanting and needing to know who they are in relationship to their friends, family, school and community, and how to better articulate themselves in this fast-paced, social-media fueled world. Therapy is a place where they can explore the process of becoming and accepting their own unique and authentic self, to grapple with uncomfortable and strong feelings, and to learn to express and embrace their differences.
Adults and Couples
You may be struggling to cope with a job or relationship issues, grief, unresolved feelings around ambiguous loss or a difficult childhood, or you may just realize that you would like to feel more understand yourself in a new way. How we make sense of ourselves or our lives can also change as we age, change jobs, move to a new location or community, or become parents. Whether you are seeking support, looking to enrich your quality of life, increase your self-knowledge, or are contending with specific issues that you would like to resolve, we can work together so that you can experience an increased sense of wholeness and authenticity in yourself and your self in relationship to others.
Couples sometimes find that they are struggling to move past what seems like a repeated failure of understanding of one or both partners. Working with an emotion and attachment-based focus, we can listen for ways you are unconsciously expressing your needs, and explore ways to work towards more meaningful communication, connection and intimacy.
Older adults
Getting old is not easy for most of us. Relational therapy, which is what I practice, is like the “slow cooking” school of psychotherapy, due to its focus on process, trust, and a deep, therapeutic relationship. As we age, what seemed to take forever, now goes by in an instant, but therapy is a place where we can pause and reflect. As we become more attuned to our changing bodies and ourselves in the cycles and rhythms of the natural world, the sights, sounds, and feelings of our youth and dreams mingle with our strengths and present concerns, anxiety, loss, and grief. In therapy, we can delve into the bitter and the sweet, finding new ways of looking at the places in our hearts and minds that offer solace or may have been too painful to approach when we were younger. Using a trauma focus and/or an attachment lens, we can work together to help you integrate the most tender parts of yourself and to come to a better place of acceptance and attunement.