Kids and Teens and Their Parents

Psychotherapy or counseling for children and teens can be a really scary thing in the beginning. (It’s that way for adults too.) Most kids think that they are going into a doctor’s office, having an “exam” or even getting a shot. Nothing is further from the truth. A question I hear a lot is “why would I go see some stranger to talk about things that are personal”?

Most of the young people who come in to my office are having a hard time with some part of their life, at least, one or more of the adults in their life think so. Most are not coming to see me because you are in trouble, have done something wrong or are sick. You would be coming to see me because something about your life is just not working well and the adults who love and care for you are not able to help you with it themselves. We all need extra help or support at some time in our life.

You may be:

  • Struggling to succeed in school either socially or not getting work done/handed in despite being intelligent;
  • Feeling down or too much stress/anxiety about life in general; have trouble putting feelings into words and feel isolated because of it;
  • Engaging in “high risk behaviors”, numbing out with gaming or social media, disconnecting from friends or disappearing from family life.

    • At our first visit, you and your parent/guardian will come in to my office where we will spend some time talking about you, your family and your life. It is my chance to get an idea of who you are, what you do well, what you are struggling with and together we will begin to figure out the best ways to help you and to help your parents help you too.

    Depending on how old you are, we will also decide together whether we will be using one of the workbooks you see on this page, go into my art area and do some collages, paintings or mask making or play with some of the toys or games in my office. Or just talk. Some kids and teens just want to talk.

    We will also decide together if you will be coming in with your parent or by yourself.

    Hopefully the images on this page will let you see what my office looks like and some of the workbooks, toys and tools that I use with kids and teens that come in to see me.

    My goal is to help you access your inner problem solver that you can feel empowered to find solutions to the challenges you are experiencing, to improve relationships in families and to overcome the obstacles that get your way.

    Workbooks I use with Kids and Teens