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Children, Adolescents, FamiliesI have extensive experience working with children, adolescents, and their families. My clinical experience includes working with high-risk children, adolescents, and young adults. I have worked extensively with suicidal and self-harming youth. In addition, I have considerable experience working with severely abused, neglected, and traumatized youth and I have specialized training in working with victims of sex trafficking.
In my work with children and adolescents, I work to help restore the child/adolescent to a progressive developmental track. I focus on helping them (and helping their parents help them) to develop their emotional muscles (their capacity to use their emotions for growth and learning rather than feeling controlled or overwhelmed by them). I work collaboratively with parents as active partners in their child's treatment. I work with parents to function more effectively as a parent of their particular child and focus on helping parents come to an understanding of their child's difficulties. I also place an emphasis on understanding the child from a holistic perspective. Some children and adolescents may require more intense treatment in order for transformations to occur. For these youth, a psychoanalytically-informed/psychodynamic form of treatment may be useful. |
What Is Child PsychoanalyticallyInformed/ Child Psychodynamic Psychotherapy? |
What is the difference between child/adolescent psychotherapy and child/adolescent psychoanalytically informed/ psychodynamic psychotherapy? Child psychodynamic psychotherapy focuses not just on symptom removal, but on their underpinnings. The depth of work in child analysis allows a focus on the sources of a child’s suffering and helps to facilitate growth and enhanced adaptation. As proposed by the Novicks (2005), I see the main goals of child and adolescent treatment as twofold: -to restore the child/adolescent to a progressive path of development -to restore the parent-child relationship so that this can serve as a lifelong protective resource for both. Consistent with the above, a main focus of treatment is to make thoughts and feelings manageable, to develop the capacity to master what feels overwhelming, and to enhance communication within the family (communication that is growthful, respectful, and compassionate). An important aspect of analytic work is the role of the frequency of treatment. The frequency of sessions allows for the deepening of the therapeutic relationship and the child’s willingness to expose their vulnerabilities. Transformations may not be possible for some youth in once a week treatment. Increased session frequency, allows for an in depth exploration of the interactions that occur between analyst and child. It also allows for the child to develop trust and a sense of safety to express their deep fears. More recent emphasis has been placed on the way child psychodynamic psychotherapy allows for the development of insight and also permits the provision of developmental help. The setting of boundaries and a frame is one way that the child psychodynamic therapist serves as a developmental object since setting limits can help promote affect regulation. In addition, child psychodynamic psychotherapy emphasizes the role of play and how this promotes important ego functions and promotes change. In summary, some of the main features of a child psychoanaltyically informed/psychodynamic psychotherapist are the focus on the relationship itself, the analyst’s focus on the meaning of behaviors rather than merely symptom removal, a focus on what is occurring in both the child’s mind and in the therapist’s, the therapist’s ability to connect past with present, an acknowledgment of the importance of play, and a focus on the treatment frame. |
Frequency of PsychoanalyticTreatment
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The frequency of treatment will be established between myself and the family. The psychoanalytically informed psychodynamic approach I use is an intense form of treatment and involves more frequent sessions. As part of the treatment, I often provide parent sessions.
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Childhood and Adolescent Disorders Addressed
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