Practice Specialties

• Child and Family Assessment and Psychotherapy
• Couples Contemplating Divorce
• Families of Divorce
• Testing and Assessment of Children

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Child and Family Assessment and Psychotherapy

There can be 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 will ask you basic questions about your child’s temperament and personality as well as about your parenting style in order to construct a broader view. During the assessment phase, I will 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)
• 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 choose to enter couples counseling or couples therapy for a variety of reasons. Frequently it is motivated a critical sign of distress, such as when one or both partners has considered ending the relationship. Often gridlock communication patterns exist that block deeper expressions of intimacy and stand as roadblocks to a satisfying partnership. In a first session you will describe some of these gridlock moments as well as reflect upon what is causing you dissatisfaction and distress. You will get a sense of how I work with couples during the first session as I guide you to get beyond the surface emotions and into the thoughts and feelings that are maintaining those emotions. I often assign homework to couples that helps guide the work for the next session. Regularly you will receive regular feedback on what I believe to be the underlying causes of your negative communication patterns and what I believe to be the emotional blocks to your having a more satisfying relationship.

If you have children and you decide to separate, I will guide you through the steps to creating a post-separation parenting plan that will preserve your integrity and help your children feel secure during the transition.

Families of Divorce

I work with families in all stages of divorce-related change, from a couple’s initial contemplation of divorce to developing a plan to tell children of their parents’ impending separation, through the phases of change that might include making a parenting plan (the living arrangement and schedule of moving back and forth between homes) to the co-parenting work after separation and divorce. Following are interventions that are typical during the process:

• Individual child therapy -  during the 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 family 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. Often tests are given that reveal a child’s intellectual capacities (rendered in the form of an I.Q. score) and perhaps also give information about learning disabilities. Screenings for ADD and kindergarten readiness are provided upon request.