Pre-Teen & Adolescent Therapy

Pre-Teen & Adolescent Therapy

Pre-teens and adolescents are navigating a unique and challenging time in their lives, which can often include high highs and low lows. I provide a comfortable, compassionate, and non-judgmental space for pre-teens and adolescents to explore and process past and current challenges, identify how they’re feeling and improve communication, and practice life-long skills related to emotion regulation, navigating interpersonal relationships, and figuring out identity and values.

When working with pre-teens and adolescents, I use my background in Synergetic Play Therapy to make sessions engaging and to better understand a child’s non-verbal communication. I also use Polyvagal Theory to conceptualize how a child’s behaviors and symptoms relate to their nervous system states and teach teens and their families about this so they have better context for how they feel and what they need to regulate. Sessions with pre-teens and adolescents often involve psychoeducation and directive activities to focus on specific goals and skills, but are still client-led, as this is their space to show up as their authentic selves. I focus on building rapport to develop a strong therapeutic relationship and incorporating your kid’s strengths and interests into sessions.

In my work with pre-teens and adolescents, I specialize in:

• Anxiety and panic

• Challenges related to neurodivergence

• Challenges specific to teen girls

• Depression

• Difficulties with emotion regulation and expression

• Low self-esteem & negative self-talk

• Navigating major life changes, including separation, divorce, and grief

• Perfectionism

• Suicidality and self-harm

• Trauma & PTSD

• Working with pre-teen and teen girls

  Sessions typically start on a weekly or biweekly basis and move to biweekly or monthly as your child progresses. Session structure includes 40 minutes of one-on-one therapy with your child, followed by a 10-minute parent meeting to discuss progress and ways to support your child outside of sessions. Depending on your child’s needs, parent check-ins may occur biweekly or monthly to allow extra time for your child in session. Sessions are $140 with limited sliding scale slots available - reach out for more information about whether you qualify and ways to potentially get free counseling for your child, or check out the FAQs page for more information.