My Approach to Helping
Children or teens battling adoption-related attachment difficulties or school avoidance face significant emotional challenges. Managing these difficulties requires a nuanced approach. Abandonment fears and difficulty forming secure relationships cripple a child’s social development, while school avoidance disrupts a child's academic and social-emotional well-being. Many families come to me feeling stuck and unable to move forward due to heightened stress related to these issues. I have years of experience working with children, teens, and families struggling with adoption-related attachment concerns or school avoidance issues.
I utilize attachment-based family therapy, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, and exposure therapy and work closely with children and families, providing a safe space to explore emotions and build trust. I help children understand and process their experiences and equip families with strategies to foster a supportive and nurturing environment.
Whether you’re seeking one-on-one therapy for your child or support for your entire family, I can assist with healing from attachment trauma, school avoidance, or other mental health or behavioral concerns such as depression, anxiety, trauma, or self-harm. Congratulations on taking a proactive approach to ensure your child or family functions healthily.
More Info About My Practice
At The Zen Den Counseling and Wellness, we believe that mental wellness is the key to achieving a happy and fulfilling life. We specialize in providing virtual, home-based, and community therapy services to children, teens, young adults, and families. We assist clients with working through a range of mental health, behavioral, emotional, and relational challenges that have impacted children, teens, or their family units. We offer an ultramodern and dynamic approach that is customized to an individual or family’s needs and has created a safe haven dedicated to peace, healing, and self-discovery.
Specific Issue(s) I'm Skilled at Helping With
While I have the ability to work with various concerns, I specialize in child, teen, young adult, and family therapy working with high acuity clients with depression or mood disorders, anxiety, adoption-related attachment concerns, self-harm, school avoidance, trauma, and family conflict.
What I Say to People Concerned about the Therapy Process
Locating the right therapist is a process similar to purchasing a new car. There are many options to choose from yet a test drive is necessary to ensure you've found what you're looking for. Exploring therapists can take some time but is necessary to ensure both the therapist and client can enter into a therapeutically beneficial relationship. Clients are often concerned with how to know they've found the right therapist. I believe that the only way to know for sure if a therapist may be right for you is to attend a session. I offer a free 15 minute initial phone consultation to allow potential clients to briefly speak with me, discuss their presenting symptoms or concerns, and hear about my therapeutic approach and experience. While the initial call is helpful, it is brief. During an intake session, this is the opportunity for you and I to have an in depth discussion regarding goals and treatment and to determine whether a therapeutic relationship may be a good fit. I recommend attending at least one additional session after the diagnostic intake to further get a feel for your my style. There are 3 things I think each client should feel if your therapist is the right fit for you: 1. Safety: You should feel the ability to be your true, authentic, and honest self. 2. Competence: It should feel like your therapist is knowledgeable about your particular issue and has the necessary skills, experience, and expertise to assist you with your needs. 3.Sense of Connection: You should feel comfortable with your therapist's personality and session style and the conversation should be equally interactive. Listen to your gut, and if it just doesn't feel right, it is recommended that you have a conversation with your therapist right away to discuss termination and potential references.
Clinicians who offer sliding scale payment structures may offer lower or reduced fees based on an individual's ability to pay. Please contact this clinician for more details regarding their fees or sliding scale policy.