You can expect your first session to include gathering lots of information about you, your goals, and your experiences. I will ask questions about your family, history of trauma, alcohol and drug use, employment, how you see yourself, medical history, what your strengths are, and all kinds of other stuff. It’s sometimes called a bio-psycho-social assessment. This helps us to determine what your goals are and how you can move in the direction you want to be.

Things that are addressed in individual therapy may include depression, anxiety, trauma, behavior problems, relationship difficulties, stress, work/life balance, questioning substance use, parenting, and more. Some people find great relief in 1-2 sessions, while others find that they need ongoing therapy. This is truly about your needs and what works for you. I am an eclectic therapist, which means I pull from several theoretical approaches. But the ones I use most often are person centered, family systems, and cognitive behavioral.

For kids, I usually spend the first session with parents/caregivers for a couple reasons. The first is that I get great information about what is going on, and second, it helps kids feel safe and comfortable. Subsequent sessions may be with or without parents/caregivers. Kids are much different in session without parents/caregivers there, so sometimes that’s helpful. I respect kiddo’s privacy and do not share information about what they talked about with the parents/caregivers. I do let everyone know though, that if there is something to do with safety, abuse, etc. that the parents/caregivers will know. Either I encourage kids to tell parents/caregivers or I do. I try and check in with parents/caregivers after each session just to give an update or to let them know if there is any homework. With teens the process is the same, except the parents/caregivers do not always come in to the first session.

With kiddos I have a ton of activities up my sleeve. With most kids, the first goal is for them to feel safe in session and to know they can trust me. Then we move on to what things are important to address. Sometimes it's that they feel like their parents/caregivers are always mad at them. In that case I’m able to help coach the parents/caregivers in ways to nurture their little one.

(Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing)

EMDR is a type of intervention that is very effective in treating trauma.

EMDR uses rapid sets of eye movements (or other bilateral stimulation such as buzzers you hold in each hand that vibrate alternately) to help you process and “file correctly” disturbing experiences. This is similar to what happens when we sleep. EMDR replicates this sleep pattern by alternating between stimulating each side of your brain and interrupting the process to get brief reports about what you are noticing. This alternating process helps update memories to a healthier perspective.