Although children and adolescents face many of the same mental health difficulties as adults do, working with young people greatly differs for two primary reasons.

First, children tend to lack the emotional vocabulary that adults have, and are not able to express themselves verbally as well as adults are able to do. As such, therapy with youth often includes other mediums, such as art and play. Secondly, therapy with young people tends to include family/parents in varying degrees. We understand that nothing occurs in a vacuum, and believe that for therapy to be truly effective, what goes on in therapy also needs to be reinforced at home. We are also able to provide parenting support in order to help parents with challenges they are having in the home.

Despite the fact that the challenges that young people face often overlap with those faced by adults (depression, anxiety, relationship issues, self-esteem, family functioning, behavioral issues, etc.), we are also keenly aware that today’s young people face some unique hurdles. As much as we recognize that social media can be a wonderful way for young people to connect with another, we also believe that it frequently contributes to increasingly difficult social pressures, as well as the tendency to compare oneself to others. We address these issues head-on when working with children and adolescents.