THERAPY

Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health

Secure attachments between a child and their parent in early childhood are linked to several positive social/emotional outcomes, such as emotional regulation, greater confidence in exploring and learning new things, higher self-esteem, increased trust in others, positive relationships with others, resilience, and strong social skills.

Additionally, parents play a crucial role in scaffolding and supporting an infant and young child’s social/emotional development. For these reasons, infant and early childhood interventions are dyadic or triadic in nature, meaning that parents participate in therapy sessions with their child.

When it doesn’t make sense for the child to participate in therapy, such as when an aspect of parenting is the focus of attention, then parent coaching interventions are used.

Child, Adolescent & Family Therapy

Attachment relationships continue to play an important role in middle childhood and adolescence. While it is developmentally appropriate for children and teens to strive for greater degrees of autonomy and independence as they mature, it is a common misconception that youth in this stage of development detach themselves from their parents.

Instead, it is sustained connection between children and parents that potentiates autonomy and independence. Because it is developmentally appropriate, children and teens often meet alone with their therapist, which also protects the confidential space, toward promoting honesty and openness.

However, because children and teens still depend heavily on a secure connection with their parents to achieve developmental aims, agreements are often made for the therapist to share with parents, the skills that children and teens learn in therapy. This ensures that parents can scaffold and support the application of those skills outside of the therapy session.

Furthermore, when it is deemed that an aspect of the family’s functioning and/or strained family relationships are the cause of the child’s difficulties, family therapy may be recommended, and family interventions may be used.

Couples Therapy

Attachment styles developed during childhood have a significant impact on adult couple relationships. In fact, when couples become distressed enough to seek out therapy, it is often because contact, safety, and/or trust, basic attachment needs, have been ruptured within the relationship.

Furthermore, in the absence of a secure connection, and when attachment fears get touched, it is common for partners to protect themselves by taking reactive and rigid stances toward each other. Couples then get stuck in negative cycles of interaction.

Couples therapy aims to help each partner become more familiar with the negative cycles of interaction that keep the couple stuck, to help each partner become aware of the attachment fears and unmet needs that underlie their reactive emotions and behaviors, to help each partner more effectively communicate their fears and needs to each other, and to help the partners become more accessible, responsive, and engaged.

    • Communication breakdowns

    • Emotional reactivity

    • Disconnection

    • Infidelity

    • Lack of emotional intimacy/warmth

    • Lack of physical intimacy

    • Life transitions (e.g., parenthood)

    • Loneliness

    • Negative cycles of interaction

    • Unresolved trauma

  • Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT)

Adult Therapy

Attachment styles developed during childhood have a significant impact on adult mental health. More specifically, individuals who developed insecure attachment styles earlier in life are more prone to experiencing issues like anxiety, depression, difficulty managing and recovering from emotional stress, low self-esteem, and relationships difficulties.

While there are certainly other factors that can influence such issues, such as biological factors, the quality of early attachment relationships plays a significant role in shaping adult mental health.

Therefore, even when a non-relational intervention, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), is recommended and used for therapy, curiosity for how early relationships have shaped current psychology will always be held in mind and woven into the work.

Fortunately, for those who have entered adulthood with insecure attachment styles, a secure attachment style can be developed later in life, and the therapeutic relationship is one context in which this type of healing can occur.

Interjurisdictional Telepsychology

I have met all requirements and have obtained an Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT) from the PSYPACT Commission, allowing me to practice telepsychology in the following states and territories:  

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Reach out to me today.