Specialties & Client Focus
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My truest passion is working with young children (ages 3 and up) and supporting their parents in keeping their own cups full while they journey alongside their children. I utilize Play Therapy when working with children, as play is preverbal and our first language. For children, play is the most accessible form of communication, even for very verbose children. Play offers children (and adults!) a way to process their experiences, express their emotions, problem-solve, and learn coping strategies. Play Therapy is used as a non-directive but supportive approach to help children grow and explore their self-awareness, grow their self-confidence, process trauma, and relieve stress. It is a powerful teaching tool as well! Whether you have specific concerns regarding your child’s behaviors, emotional regulation, or social skills, or you are interested in having a proactive approach to supporting your child’s social/emotional development, Play Therapy can be a fun and enriching intervention to do so.
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Whether you are about to become a parent or are in the throws of it, it helps not to feel alone. Becoming a parent is one of the most emotion-filled and life-changing transitions an individual makes in their life. How do you find yourself coping through these times? Are you able to make room for the entire spectrum of feelings that are a part of the journey?
I can work with you on specific questions or challenges you are having as a parent-to-be and/or with regard to your child if you are already on the journey of parenthood. I am also here to provide an opportunity to learn more generally about child development and the important connection between brain development and social/emotional skills. Parent training sessions also support parents in doing their own internal work by creating a space to explore their own experiences as a child, identify their triggers, and learn stress reduction strategies. The overall approach in parent training is how to live and parent mindfully and consciously while also building your knowledge base of neurobiology to understand yourself and your child better.
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Working with young adults (ages 18-25) is incredibly rewarding and enriching. It is such a unique time in one’s life when your brain is finally at a place of more balance and ready to do some deep learning. However, young adulthood is also a time of huge transitions which can feel extremely disorienting and challenging. Perhaps you (or your young adult child) are just beginning college and are feeling overwhelmed by all the new expectations, social dynamics, freedom, and responsibilities. Maybe you are about to graduate, and the uncertainty of what comes next feels daunting or paralyzing. Young adulthood is one of life's most pivotal and exciting times, but it also comes with a lot of growing pains. I offer a compassionate, understanding, and empathetic space to understand this new and unfolding time in your life so you can deepen your sense of self and your life and pave a way forward that feels meaningful, authentic, and fulfilling.
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Anxiety
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
School stress
Coping Skill Building
Emotional Dysregulation
Grief and loss
Life Transitions (i.e. college, parenthood)
Parenting
Peer Relationships
Social skills training
Pregnancy, Prenatal, Postpartum
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Experience & Qualifications
I received my undergraduate B.A. degree in psychology from Stony Brook University, NY in 2002. I then went on to do my graduate studies at California School of Professional Psychology @ Alliant International University in San Francisco, CA earning my PsyD in Clinical Psychology with a focus on working with children and families. During my training and dissertation work, I specialized in Autism Spectrum Disorder, working in a range of treatment approaches from Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) to Stanley Greenspans Floor-Time methods. I graduated in 2011 and became licensed in 2013.
Before going into private practice in 2014, my training and clinical experience was in both schools and clinics, delivering the following services:
Individual Therapy
Parent-child group work
Social skills groups within the classroom setting
Crisis Intervention and support services, including collecting data and writing FBA’s and Behavior Support Plans
Writing IEPs as well as attending CPSE and CSE committee meetings
Early Intervention services
Psychological Testing and Assessments
Treatment Coordinator for students — managing their therapeutic, educational, speech and language, physical and occupational services, and conducting parent support and training.
Providing staff training on classroom behavior management utilizing Conscious Disciplines social/emotional curriculum.
Development, training, and implementation of classroom social/emotional strategies, including the use of my “Tool Box” (coping skills) curriculum, providing “cozy/calming” corners, and personalized social stories to teach targeted skills.
I started my private practice in 2014, working with children as young as 3, teens, young adults, and parents. The individuals I see in my practice have anxiety, struggle with emotional regulation, depression, need supports in developing social skills or navigating relationship/friendship challenges, are on the Autism Spectrum, have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, grief and loss issues, or are individuals who are wanting support around big life transitions like young adulthood or parenthood.
Most recently, I have focused on and incorporated into my client work treatment methods that include Emotional Freedom Technique (Tapping), Dan Siegel’s Interpersonal Neurobiology, Polyvagal Theory, Somatic exercises, Exposure Response Prevention (#1 treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Play Therapy and more general mindfulness practices and techniques.