I am a provider at our Aldie clinic who provides therapy services in-person and via telehealth. I work with clients on identifying feelings through talk, writing or interactive work, identifying positive coping skills they can apply when their mood is not good. We’ll identify their interests for easier engagement, openness and focus with therapy, educate on good vs. bad coping, recognize appropriate and inappropriate behaviors, and building their confidence by working on helpful thinking patterns and strengths. We will utilize worksheets or other visuals, identify physical effects of feelings and processing in sessions, play therapy, CBT work, mindfulness and strategies for more positive thinking. I utilize story telling or other games clients enjoy such as use of their toys, board games, dolls and so forth. I can also work with clients on identifying those negative thinking patterns by breaking them down, recognizing feelings associated and identifying new thoughts to get through the problems in a more positive manner. I can also work on a strengths based perspective and simple language to allow better understanding. I can help parents apply parenting strategies with clients and be more consistent with rules, rewards and consequences. I can work with parents on recognizing their role in behavior change and giving themselves credit for behavior improvement. I can review previous sessions and information covered to see how much clients remembered, applied and so forth.

I build my sessions around the client’s comfort (i.e. talking, writing, drawing, interactive activities and visual worksheets), I normalize feelings, thoughts and behaviors, use everyday examples and language for better understanding, use sense of humor to build trust, engagement and focus and meet my clients where they are at in sessions. I also listen carefully in sessions and check in on any activities the clients engaged in such as a basketball game, play date, a Math test, etc. I am nonjudgmental with clients and utilize educational work a lot to facilitate processing and normalization. I let the clients teach me during sessions to build their confidence and allow them to feel good about themselves. I reinforce self-care, talk about their interests, their difficulties, what they feel good about and why. I always learn something from my clients in each session and ensure to point out the positives when speaking with them during treatment. I normalize difficulties and provide a lot of support to assist with motivation. I also put a lot of emphasis on personal goals so clients do not just see the bad. I provide a comfortable space to discuss anything on a client’s mind and adjust to any direction the session takes.