Approaches

As with any kind of therapy, my approaches depend so much on the individual, their communication styles and preferences, likes and dislikes, personality, and overall comfort level with a professional and trust and readiness for the therapeutic process. However, here are some of my favorite styles and approaches that make up my therapeutic personality:

For Children (12 and under) - First and foremost, I want to make therapy a place your child looks forward to coming. I want them to see me as a safe adult who’s also kind of like a friend. They can call me Alison, take their shoes off (I’m almost never wearing mine anyway), and bring a favorite toy from home if that helps them feel more comfortable. I highly value open dialogue with parents so I can make sure we’re on the same team and working towards the same goals, and I invite parents to reach out to me to communicate and check in as much as they need to. I will prioritize getting to know your child, learning about their likes, dislikes, favorites, and friends.

I am proud to say I have a whole room in my office just for kiddos. My daughters helped me pick out toys, games, and craft supplies to help make it welcoming and fun, but also providing opportunities for me to observe and interact with your child in a therapeutic way. Ideally, your kiddo will feel like we’re just playing and having fun, but therapeutic benefits will also be happening. For example, playing a game together offers great practice following rules, experiencing winning and losing, and tolerating frustration. It’s an opportunity to build rapport and shared experiences between therapist and child, increasing their feelings of safety in the therapeutic relationship. It can help break the ice and pave the way for conversation to happen in a non-threatening way. Play between therapist and child can help increase rapport and help the child feel seen, heard, and understood. As a parent, I get it - we do our best to spend quality time with our children, but life is busy and we only have so much to give. Therapy can offer a space that’s purely for them, where for one hour a week they are the sole focus and get all of the attention.

As with any age, benefits will not be immediate. But over time, with consistent sessions and a positive working relationship with parents, we can expect that your child will develop increased confidence and self-esteem, communication, coping and emotional regulation skills, improved relationships with others, increased self-awareness, and decreased anger and maladaptive behaviors.

For tweens and teens - Approach will be flexible depending on your kiddo’s developmental level, comfort in the therapeutic relationship, communication preferences, and self-awareness. Some tweens and teens are very verbal, self-aware, and emotionally intelligent, and we can sit and talk for the whole hour. Others are very reserved, less verbal, or feel more comfortable playing games, coloring, or doing other activities instead of or during talking. My goal will always be to help boost overall self-awareness and communication skills, but I will meet your teen where they’re at.

For some kids who were adopted at a young age, the teenage years can reveal emotions, behaviors, and trauma responses that were never quite realized before - or are simply being understood and processed differently as their brains develop. While we all know that it can be very typical for your sweet child to turn into a moody, angry tween, a history of trauma complicates all of this further. I will seek to get to know your kiddo and meet them where they are with whatever they need to process. Even if their adoption issues aren’t the primary reason for seeking therapy, it is always helpful to keep in mind that their history could be impacting their day to day.

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