I have a strong behavioral background, with extensive knowledge of behavioral principles that I apply to helping parents with everyday challenges. In my work with parents, I focus on finding the purpose (What’s the function?!) of the challenging behavior and then applying an intervention that meets that same need. This means that the child’s needs continue to be met, but in a way that is appropriate and functional in daily life. This can be applied to any challenging behavior regardless of the function! I have experience in this type of treatment with both neurotypical and neurodivergent children, and I modify treatment to meet individual needs as we go. We will figure it out together, and I will guide you through the process until you feel confident in your own abilities to manage daily behavioral challenges. The most rewarding thing about my work is seeing how using these strategies improve parent-child relationships and seeing that sense of relief in parents once they develop confidence in their abilities to meet any challenge that comes their way. The strategies I use with parents are based on my extensive training in parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) and behavioral principles.
Regarding counseling and other interventions, I have experience working with children, teens, and young adults. I generally use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) but pull from other therapies depending on what the individual client needs. Sometimes this means going back to the basics of learning more about emotions, developing a behavioral plan for struggles associated with ADHD, facing fears in the context of phobias or obsessive-compulsive behavior, or processing trauma in a safe and age-appropriate way. Therapies that I pull from include dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), exposure and response prevention (ERP), trauma-focused CBT (TF-CBT), and a neuro-affirming approach to applied behavior analysis (ABA). My professional interests include OCD, autism, ADHD, trauma-informed care, identity-affirming care, educational advocacy, parent-child relationships, and comprehensive psychological assessment.