Family Therapy in Northampton, MA

Asking for help is not easy, and finding the right therapist can be even more difficult. I am passionate about helping individuals and families move towards a path of well-being and health. In a safe and caring environment, I work with clients who struggle with a range of issues: anxiety, trauma, depression, relationship difficulties, separation and loss, low self-esteem, lack of motivation, family conflict and parenting. My work is trauma informed and strengths-based. It is important to me that clients feel heard and valued.

I am a queer, pre-licensed professional. In sessions, I combine academic, lived, and clinical experiences to create a client-focused therapeutic environment based on collaboration and community. My training has centered on working with queer and trans adolescents and young adults, as well as partnership work, including monogamous, ENM, and poly relationship constellations. In my clinical work, I believe in the strength of authenticity, connection, warmth, and empathy. I primarily draw on narrative, dialogic, and relational approaches in my work. Anti-oppression, social justice, and intersectional feminist lenses are also central.

My primary work is with children, adolescents, parents and families. I provide treatment for a wide range of childhood mental health concerns, as well as specialized help for parenting issues or families experiencing a crisis. My work is comprehensive, paying attention to family, school, medical and environmental issues that underly problems. Depending on the situation, I may work with children directly, engage in parent coaching/consultations or interface with other providers and schools to improve the conditions for wellness. I am also a educational specialist and work with children and schools to promote best outcomes.

I have been working as a therapist since 1997. As a marriage and family therapist, I work with couples, families, as well as individuals.

Thank you for considering my profile. I am licensed both as a Mental Health Counseler and a Marriage and Family Therapist. A guiding belief in my work is an unconditional regard for the individual value of each person. I have a variety of training (Pyschodynamic, cognitive behavioral, relational EFT, EMDR etc.)and use an ecelectic approach. I have been working with children and their families in a varity of settings, for almost 30 years. I have extensive experience working with a variety of diagnosis. I also have a bachelor degree in working with Young Children with Special Needs.

I work with adults, couples, families, and adolescents on a wide range of challenges including depression, anxiety, poor self image, relationship issues, trauma, and eating disorders. My approach is engaged and interactive, directly focusing on the difficulties that you are facing. Reconnecting with your true self and healing and strengthening your relationships are key elements of our work together. I am a caring and attentive listener and dedicate myself to helping you achieve optimal contentment and peace of mind. My therapeutic approach includes aspects of cognitive therapy, DBT, mindfulness and Buddhist psychology, narrative therapy, and somatic therapy.

**Email is preferred contact method for first time clients** Have you been feeling stuck, unmotivated, anxious or depressed? Do you find that events from the past getting in the way of living in the way you would like to be? My role as a psychotherapist is to help you move through these feelings to reach your goals. I cultivate a supportive environment in which, together we can uncover the root cause of your struggles, help you heal from the past and develop skills to help you successfully move forward.

My approach to therapy is not limited to any one direction or technique. I work to stay open to and curious about each person's unfolding story. I listen closely to nuance and I look for underlying patterns, towards understanding what keeps people stuck. I am comfortable working with great adversity and extreme pain.

For young children, behavior is a way to communicate needs. When complex emotions arise through challenging behaviors, parents may be left feeling unsure how to respond. Does your child seem overly anxious? Are they highly distressed when separated from you or more withdrawn than you'd expect? Maybe they've experienced a traumatic or scary event, a significant loss, or you’d like to prepare them for a family life change. Are you an adoptive or foster family wanting help with bonding and building secure attachment? Do you hope to gain clearer insight into your child’s needs and support them through a stressful time?

A wise therapist once said to me, “life is 10,000 smiles and 10,000 tears.” Such words never rang so true as during these days of loss, fear, and uncertainty due to racial injustice, viral pandemic, and threats to our climate. These events impact us all; although we may not recognize it. Whatever brings you here today, I am here to provide support, compassion, and assistance because life happens…

**Practice currently full** I offer individual and family therapy, working with children, adolescents, and adults. My approach is relational, attachment-focused, and trauma-informed. I believe that each person is the expert of their own experience; I work collaboratively with clients to tailor treatment to best meet their needs and to identify strategies to improve their daily lives. I strive to remain attentive to social identities, dynamics in family systems, and the larger cultural landscape that impact a person's sense of self and shape their experiences.

By cultivating the qualities of Self in my work with you, we'll open pathways to your health - moving beyond depression, anxiety, trauma - transforming old patterns you realize are no longer effective. Your true strengths emerge. bringing creativity and natural solutions to problems. Being open-minded to your unique and diverse ways of living, thinking and being, we explore the journey toward safe and positive ways of relating to yourself and others.

Therapy is a collaborative process of challenging patterns that get in the way of living fully and learning how to become more aligned and balanced. Often we act differently from what we feel or know because our histories, for various reasons, have caused our internal resources to shut down. I aim to to help my clients restore, integrate and utilize their inner strengths.

I have enjoyed working as a therapist for over 30 years in private, medical, agency, and public school settings. My approach is collaborative and goal focused, including active coaching and monitoring of progress toward desired treatment outcomes. Should you be finding yourself in a place of readiness to access or maintain healthier patterns of emotional responding and related behaviors toward your desired outcomes I welcome you to contact me. My practice is active and often full. While my waiting list will vary in length, I do my best to meet the majority of my clients requests in as time efficient manner as possible.

Are you hoping to practice clear and effective communication with others about your wants, needs, or boundaries? Are you thinking about breaking a pattern or stopping a behavior that no longer serves you? Are you searching for a supportive, collaborative space to reflect on your past, to stay grounded in the present, or to explore what you want for your future?

For the past 30 years I have enjoyed my work as a psychotherapist, art therapist and group psychotherapist. My practice is in Northampton, MA. I have available hours on Fridays and weekends. I facilitate two family support groups later in the afternoon and evening each week (scroll down to the bottom of this page to learn more.) In addition to my private practice, my counseling work takes me out to the Berkshires, to the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge, MA. My primary treatment objective is to support families and individual’s to discover their personal motivation to change.

I specialize in treating children, adolescents and families with all kinds of issues ranging from anxiety to ADHD, as well as depression, divorce and blended families. I also provide adults with parent guidance, and see individual adults for psychotherapy. My theoretical orientation is mixed; training in family systems, psychodynamic, as well as cognitive-behavioral treatment. I see people ranging in age from 4 to adult!

I provide psychotherapy and psychoanalysis to adults in a thoughtful, warm, compassionate atmosphere. I treat a spectrum of issues ranging from the commonly practical to the loftily complex, including trauma, depression, anxiety, self-esteem, grief, loss, sexuality, gender, LGBTQ, family, relationships, marriage, professional, identity, existential and spiritual confusion. My therapeutic approach is rooted in psychoanalytic and contemplative theories of human development, function, and dysfunction. I am dedicated to helping my clients grow through their issues in a safe, comfortable, confidential space.

For the past 30 years, I have been providing mental health services to adolescents, college students, adults, and families. My approach would be to work collaboratively with you focusing on your strengths and your capacity for resilience.