PRISCILLA’S PSYCHOLOGY TODAY PROFILE
“Now is the time to focus on personal growth, healing, purpose, and direction in your life. Therapy is a powerful tool for adolescents and young adults when you encounter challenges that encompass anxiety, depression, trauma, fear of failure, defiance, anger, interpersonal conflict, unstable families, substance use, poor self-esteem, grief, problems in relationships, or any other issues. The list of struggles can seem to go on and on. Yet, therapy provides you a space and an opportunity to find comfort, build strength and knowledge, and to overcome.
For my adolescent clients: Life is complicated and despite the varying opinions about “what’s wrong with this generation” the bottom line is that your life can be extremely difficult to navigate. Sometimes this is a result of circumstances that are out of your control (moving, divorces, depression, etc.) and other times it’s because of choices you have made (drug use, failing grades, shutting down, etc.). Regardless, having a supportive person that is committed to helping you sort through the struggles can be incredibly empowering and helpful. I’m well aware that most young people aren’t thrilled about the idea of going to therapy, so please know that I am prepared to roll with the resistance that may creep up and that I am open and ready to hear you, to respect your experience and your journey, and to value everything you have to bring to the table. It takes an unbelievable amount of courage to expose your vulnerability to a stranger and I will always respect that. It’s not uncommon for people to judge you for being a young person and to make assumptions about who and what you are, so I encourage you to approach therapy in the same way you so often want others in this world to approach you: open, letting go of preconceived ideas, and with the desire to truly understand and experience you.
For my young adults: At this juncture of your life, it is often expected from family members, from society, and sometimes even from yourself that you have it all figured out. The pressures of life transitions combined with the already existing anxiety, relationship struggles, exposure to trauma or substance use can bring you to the tipping point. Being an adult often isn’t all that you thought it would be and the obstacles from your adolescence persist. “Sucking it up” isn’t the only option – you can find healthy relief for the burdens you carry. Therapy will afford you a space to continue to work through the struggles you have carried into your adulthood, while also helping you sort out how to stay afloat while figuring out exactly who you are, where you’re going, what it means to “adult” and how to do it successfully.
Lastly, I have this message for parents: Parenting is filled with ups and downs and the combination of sometimes not knowing what to do, or feeling ineffective with what you are doing can be overwhelming. As difficult as it may be, recognizing that you and your child need outside support can be a transformative experience. I am confident that I have the skills and experience necessary to support your child and this will inadvertently support you. Finding the right provider for your child is difficult, please do not hesitate to reach out if you have questions about my practice and my services.
As a psychotherapist, I am passionate and deeply committed to the process of each of my clients as they pursue wholeness, healing, happiness, and success in their lives. Human beings are complex and as a result, I take a bio-psychosocial approach in learning about and understanding my clients. Upon adequately getting to know each client and understanding the complexities of their respective life situations, we collaboratively agree upon what successful completion of therapy looks like before we delve deep into the work. I am trained in various modalities and integrate evidenced based practices to address trauma, anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns in my practice including the following: CBT, TF-CBT, Solution Focused Therapy, ACT, Mindfulness, Narrative Therapy, and Imagery Rescripting.”
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