IN-PERSON & REMOTE
Therapy for
Children & Teens
Therapy for Children
Nurturing your child’s healthy mental and emotional development is crucial during childhood as these formative years shape lifelong behaviors.
CBT Therapy with Kids
Research is always the guide in CBT with kids and teens. As a therapist and a parent, I am committed to practicing evidence-based CBT. This does not mean we do endless worksheets and workbooks; we work together to find fun, challenging, and real tools for change.
My goal is to engage and connect with each child meaningfully with therapy that’s specific to their individual character and experience.
Our Process
Identify their Challenge
Our work starts with learning how to identify feelings, thoughts and behaviors.
We then look at the interaction between this triad and explore ways of creating change.
Creativity-led Solutions
We use strategies from role play, breathing, changing thoughts, and cognitive distortions.
The list is endless, but the goal is always the same: to teach kids to feel like they can manage their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.
From Therapy to Real-Life
What we work on in the therapy room has to be practiced in real-world settings.
We work together to determine what works best for your child and revise our approaches to meet their needs.
I can help your children with:
Aggression, defiance or disruptive behavior
Anxiety
Depression
Trauma or stress
Life or family changes
Social problems
Attention problems
Negative self-image
Grief and loss
Phobias
Sleep problems
Work with Elisa
To begin working together, please send me a short message to schedule an initial consult with me.
Therapy for Teens
Therapy can be a supportive, judgment-free space for you to discuss your challenges openly.
When you begin to name and describe the experiences you’re having, you can begin to understand who you are, about why you’re struggling in some areas of your life and see more clearly who you want to become.
I want therapy to be a place where you can challenge thoughts that limit you and where you feel like you can really spread your wings wide and take flight!
Your Teenager Brain
I have worked with teens my entire career, and it is always exciting and challenging.
My book, Your Amazing Teen Brain: CBT and Neuroscience Skills to Stress Less, Balance Emotions, and Strengthen Your Growing Mind, taught me so much about adolescence and the brain.
For better or worse, brain development is a part of CBT therapy for teens. Your brain is changing so much right now, and there are tangible ways we can "hack" some of those changes to make them work better for you.
The important stuff in your life:
There are four main tasks of adolescence (according to Wildhood - one of my very favorite books).
These are (paraphrased):
1. Safety
2. Negotiating status
3. Sexuality
4. Self-reliance
What do you think? I think it sounds about right.
Our Process
When we work together, we get to know each other. I try to understand how you think about things and what motivates and gets to you. I share observations, connections, and strategies with you along the way.
CBT is direct, meaning I let you know what I'm thinking. If I disagree with you and see something different, I will challenge you, but if you disagree with me, you also challenge me.
You are the expert on your own experience, and I promise to work hard to understand, but your insight is vital. I value you and your perspective.
I can help you with:
Aggression, defiance or disruptive behavior
Anxiety
Depression
Eating disorders
Trauma or stress
Life or family changes
Social problems
Attention problems
Negative self-image
Grief and loss
Phobias
Sleep problems
Gender & Sexual Identity
Work with Elisa
To begin working together, please send me a short message to schedule an initial consult with me.
FAQ
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Yes! Although as kids get older, they get more input as to the amount of involvement of their parents. Young adults often choose not to have supporting adults involved in their treatment.
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I started my first website because of this question. I wanted kids to see pictures of my office and me before they came in. Many kids have all kinds of misinformation about what therapy is, but my site can at least show them what I look like and give them a sense of the space where we meet.
I recommend letting your child know that my job as a therapist is to work with them to help them with worries or sadness- whatever the issue is that is getting in the way. I also recommend letting them know I have done this work for a long time, and I will not judge them or be surprised by anything they say. I have worked with many kids, and they are not alone in their struggles. Other kids have also gone through it, and together we will figure out ways to help them feel better.
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Thousands of research studies support the effectiveness of CBT with youth. The three major federally-funded youth studies are:
Child/Adolescent Anxiety Multimodal Study (CAMS): rationale, design, and methods
The Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study (TADS): Long-term Effectiveness and Safety Outcomes. Arch Gen Psychiatry
Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, Sertraline, and Their Combination for Children and Adolescents With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: The Pediatric OCD Treatment Study (POTS) Randomized Controlled Trial
CBT is most effective with mood disorders like anxiety and depression. CBT has not been as effective with AD/HD and other behavioral disorders (parent training and behavioral therapy generally work best with those issues).