Practice Specialties

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Child and Family Assessment and Psychotherapy

There are times in the family life cycle when parents have concerns about a child’s behavior, emotions, learning style, or temperament. In an initial consultation, I ask you basic questions which explore your child’s temperament and personality as well as your parenting style in order to construct a broader view. During the assessment phase, I meet separately with you as parents, then with your child independently, and finally with you again for a follow-up meeting. At that time we will discuss a treatment plan that may include any or all of the following:

• Individual psychotherapy for your child
• Regularly scheduled parent meetings to discuss your child (within the confines of confidentiality if I am simultaneously meeting with your child)
• Family sessions including you and your child together
• A referral for psychological or educational testing, a medical check-up, a school IEP, group therapy, or other outside services
• A homework assignment for you or your child that might include attending a class or support group, or reading a book or article 

Couples Contemplating Divorce

Couples enter couples counseling or couples therapy for a variety of reasons. Frequently it is motivated by signs of distress, such as when one or both partners is considering ending the relationship. Often gridlock communication patterns exist that prevent deeper expressions of intimacy and stand as roadblocks to a satisfying partnership. In a first session I ask you to describe some of these gridlock moments as well as help you reflect upon what is causing you dissatisfaction and distress. During a first consultation appointment, I guide you to get beyond surface emotions in order to uncover underlying thoughts and feelings that are maintaining those emotions. I provide opportunities for you to challenge our work in the event that we are not addressing the issues you came to address. As we uncover your negative emotional cycles, I offer ways during ongoing sessions for you to  practice "catching" the cycle as it plays out between our sessions. A commitment is required on your part to continue to explore your contribution to the negative cycle and to offer self-reflective comments during the sessions. 

Couples with children who decide to separate will be guided through the steps to creating a post-separation parenting plan that will preserve family integrity and help children feel secure during the transition.

Families of Divorce

Families often seek professional assistance when making divorce-related changes, whether it be during the initial separation of divorce (e.g., how to tell the children), or later, when there is a need for a comprehensive parenting plan. The "parenting plan" may include reviewing the decisions you've made with a mediator with me in order to understand their impact on your child's life, or with assisting you with co-parenting conversations in order for to ex-partners to continue to co-parent effectively. The following are typical interventions during the process:

• Individual child therapy -  during the divorce transition to support the child’s adjustment.
• Parent-child relational work -  to support the sustained connection between a child and parent having relationship difficulty.
• Parent consultation - to support a new family constellation, to formulate a parenting plan, to educate about the pitfalls for children and their parents’ divorce.
• Co-parenting therapy - an intervention bringing divorced parents together in a collaborative monthly meeting to coordinate child-rearing practices, to coordinate scheduling, and to update each other about family changes.  Parents establish goals for their meetings, with the overall goal to promote children's healthy adjustment in both homes.
• Blended family therapy- to help families address on-going problems      related to additional adjustment and change.

Testing and Assessment of Children

When a parent has concerns about a child’s social, emotional, cognitive or behavioral functioning that cannot be addressed through psychotherapy, I may recommend a formal psychological assessment. An assessment of this kind helps a family to understand how personality, temperament, and emotional vulnerabilities might be shaping a child’s life. An assessment may include a screening to reveal a child’s intellectual capacities (e.g., an I.Q. score) and perhaps also provide information about learning disabilities. I provide general screenings for ADD and kindergarten readiness if needed. Occasionally a referral is made to a different psychologist when a specialized assessment (i.e., a pediatric neuropsychologist) is needed.