My Methods

I use many different methods and modalities to support clients to reach their goals, based on their Individual needs. These methods may include Cognitive Behavior Therapy; Acceptance and Commitment Therapy; Solution Focused Therapy; Conflict Resolution; Mindfulness;  Parent Education including SPACE, Non Violent Resistance,  Positive Discipline; and Collaborative and Proactive Solutions. Together we design a program that work towards the client’s goals.

Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, (CBT) is an approach I have found to provide very successful outcomes with children, teens and adults. CBT involves helping individuals to examine and understand their belief system and how those beliefs may be getting in their way of living the life they want. This therapy can be used to help identify current situations that have caused challenging perceptions, feelings and behaviors. By becoming aware of triggers, thoughts and behaviors and reframing thinking and actions, clients are able to change those perceptions and produce new outcomes about themselves and others. This work can support huge shifts with  anxiety and depression.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy:  (ACT) is an action-oriented approach to psychotherapy that stems from traditional behavior therapy and cognitive behavior therapy. Clients learn to stop avoiding, denying, and struggling with their inner emotions and, instead, accept that these deeper feelings are appropriate responses to certain situations that should not prevent them from moving forward in their lives. With this understanding, clients begin to accept their hardships and commit to making necessary changes in their behavior, regardless of what is going on in their lives and how they feel about it.

Mindfulness can also be used to help practice being present in the here and now. Learning about the brain science behind mindfulness can help clients to understand how a consistent practice can literally change the structure of their brain and proactively help to calm down the nervous system. These changes to the nervous system, our brain's neural pathways and brain structure lead to the ability to practice self regulation much more successfully. This can be the difference in creating that moment where we can choose to respond instead of react.

SPACE Program, Lebowitz & Omer ©

SPACE stands for Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions and is a parent-based treatment program for children and adolescents with anxiety, OCD, and related issues. Parents who participate in SPACE will learn skills and tools to help their child overcome anxiety, OCD or related challenges.The treatment focuses on changes that parents can make to their own behavior instead of focusing on trying to make their child change. The two main changes that parents learn to make in SPACE treatment are to respond more supportively to their anxious child, and to reduce the accommodations they have been making to the child's symptoms. To read more about SPACE and how it works visit https://www.spacetreatment.net/about-space

Parent Based Training for Highly Dependent Adult Children is an approach similar to SPACE but for young adults who remain at home, highly reliant on parents and avoiding higher education and employment. See https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-intelligent-divorce/202003/failure-launch-what-it-is-and-how-handle-it

Non-Violent Resistance (NVR), is an approach which has been developed to address children’s aggressive, violent or self-destructive behaviors. It empowers parents with strategies that enable them  to not be drawn into responding aggressively themselves-and instead are able to maintain a loving and anchoring stance through clear boundaries and specific actions.

Positive Discipline - Positive Discipline (PD) is a philosophy based on the Adlerian theory that being a connected part of a community creates a sense of belonging and significance which is a basic human need.  PD was designed to teach children to become responsible, respectful and resourceful members of their community. Adults and children practice mutual respect and encouragement. This means that children are not punished for making mistakes but encouraged to learn from them and expected to fix them. PD also teaches communication, self regulation and problem solving skills.

1. What is it: What is Positive Discipline? 
2. Based on the human need for a Sense of Belonging and Significance, Mutual Respect, and Connection
3. Supporting children in building intrinsic motivation through no rewards/punishments because they create extrinsically motivated reactions.

Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS) by Ross Greene helps kids and caregivers solve the problems that are causing challenging behaviors. The problem solving is collaborative (not unilateral) and proactive (not reactive). See https://cpsconnection.com/what-is-cps/