Family Therapy

As a couples and family therapist, Elizabeth believes in the importance of family connections. Elizabeth works with families to build and strengthen familial bonds by actively engaging families in attachment, attunement, emotion coaching, emotion regulation and identification, problem solving, and pro-social skills. Family sessions might be inclusive, where siblings, parents, and extended family are invited to problem solve and support each other through challenging situations. Other sessions might involve parent coaching, where parents explore values, expectations, and limit setting without children present. Elizabeth has extensive experience working with children and families. She strives to empower children and parents to come to a place of cohesion and understanding.

Elizabeth is also trained and certified in the Circle of Security Parenting curriculum, which focuses on attachment-based parenting. In addition, she has trained in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, which teaches parents play therapy techniques and specific discipline techniques to enhance their child’s regulation, attention, social skills, compliance, and safety. 

Young Children

Young children have different therapeutic needs from adolescents and adults.  Because they are still developing, therapeutic interventions and approaches must be adjusted for each child’s developmental level. They often require more frequent and consistent support to effectively make progress. Elizabeth incorporates play, sand, and art techniques with evidence-based therapy models to engage young children in the therapy process. Perhaps most crucially, she strives to make the child’s primary caregivers active participants in the therapeutic process. By providing caregivers with the tools to support their children, Elizabeth builds an environment for success. Elizabeth is uniquely able to support families with children from birth to five. 

Adolescents/Teenagers

Teenagers are often in a transitional state between childhood and adulthood. As with younger children, teens often need the support and involvement of their primary caregivers. However, like adults, teens need the privacy to engage freely with the therapeutic process. As long as safety is not a concern, teenagers benefit from being empowered in when, how, and how much their treatment is discussed with their caregivers. However, parents and caregivers are still encouraged to be involved by supporting their teen with developmentally appropriate limit setting, communication, and safety planning, and, when appropriate, participation in family therapy sessions.