Therapist in San Marcos, CA
Child Therapy and Adult Therapy for Anxiety San Diego North County
About Therapy for Anxious Kids & Adults
You lost your temper with your child yesterday. It’s a frequent thing. You were able to walk away, but deep inside you fear that you might be failing as a parent. Telling yourself it won’t happen again, but you’re afraid it will.
It’s just that sometimes your child’s worries seem irrational.
They panic over little things. You’ve tried talking to them, reasoning about why their fear doesn’t make sense, but it never seems to help. Today you’re searching for a therapist because you know if you don’t get help, nothing is going to change for your child. And something has got to change.
Parenting is one of the hardest jobs on the planet. And when this person you love more than anything is struggling, all you want to do is make it better.
Whether you have an anxious child, you were the anxious child, and now you struggle as an adult, I can help.
I work with my clients from my office in San Marcos, CA, and online throughout California.
From my personal experiences, I meet clients with compassion and encouragement. With my professional experiences and training, I meet clients with knowledge and tools to teach them how to feel calmer and act braver.
My therapy specialties include:
Child Therapy for Anxious Kids, ages 6-10
Grief Counseling for Children, ages 6-10
Art Therapy in San Diego for Anxiety & Trauma
Anxiety Therapy for Adults, especially those who parent anxiously
Stressed Adults, help that goes beyond talk therapy
Parenting Support & Coaching
+ Credentials
MA, Counseling Psychology with an emphasis on marriage, family, & child counseling from Argosy University
MA, Art Therapy from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
National Art Therapy Credential Board (ATCB): Registered Art Therapist, ATR #15308
California Board of Behavioral Science (BBS): Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, LMFT #95728
+ Training
Here is a partial list of training I have completed in addition to masters degrees for counseling psychology and art therapy.
SPACE Treatment (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions)-12 hours of training provided by Dr. Eli Liebowitz of the Yale Child Study Center
Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy -10 hours through National Crime Victims Research & Treatment Center/MUSC
Parent Child Interactive Therapy (PCIT) for Traumatized Children- 10 hours through UC Davis PCIT Training Center
Domestic Violence Crisis Intervention Training - 40 hours certification through Community Resource Center
Using Art Therapy to Understand and Build Attachment - 1 hour through SoCal Art Therapy Association Training Institute
Child-Centered Play Therapy - 4 hours certificate of completion
Exposure and Behavioral Activation Therapy - 8 hours through National Crime Victims Research & Treatment Center/MUSC
Grief & Loss Training -20 hours through Hospice Education Network
Bereavement Training - 60 hours though The Center for Grief Care and Education at San Diego Hospice
Solution Focused Brief Therapy with Children & Families - 8 hours with Dr. Adam Froerer
Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) Certificate Training - 12 hours taught by Richard Sears
CBT for Anxiety with John Ludgate
Adverse Childhood Experiences
Making sense of the Pandemic: Psychological Impact on Clients & Communnities
Motivational Interviewing: Using O.A.R.S. to Help Clients Row to Shore
Telehealth: Legal & Ethical Issues
Anxiety in youth: A Family-based treatment approach, Rogers Behavioral Health webinar
Self-care & Resilience: Practice what you teach
Nuturing the Self through art: Self-care through transitions
Parent-Child Conflict Practical Interventions
PCIT Adaptions for Anxiety Treatment
+ Why I Became a Therapist.
I was an anxious child. School was terrifying. I watched other kids joyfully cross monkey bars, climb up the tallest slide, and swing fearlessly high. They splashed in pools, laughed, and rode bikes. They shared at show-and-tell and read in front of the class without hesitation. I hated fifty-yard dashes, timed math quizzes, oral book reports, and school performances. What I know now, that I didn’t know then, is I was having panic attacks as early as Kindergarten.
My breathing would change, and the fear would rise up. Sometimes my stomach would begin to hurt. A smothering feeling would overwhelm me, and I would begin crying. It felt very embarrassing, isolating and I would have done anything to stop. To just be like other kids.
Nothing came easy, except creating. And that is often the case with anxious kids. They are highly creative, with big imaginations. The thing about imagination, is sometimes it carries you away to scary places and tells you lies about life.
I am also a trauma survivor and someone who has experienced seasons of grief and loss. Each time I have gotten back up and gotten through with the help of God, people who love me, and therapists. Therapy is not for everyone, but for me it taught me about the importance of boundaries, to address lies I believed, to be proactive in my life, and express myself. I experienced different kinds of therapy, that helped me in unique ways. For this reason, I use a blended approach with my clients, bringing in cognitive behavioral therapy, art therapy, and with children, the addition of therapeutic play interventions. To learn more about Art Therapy, click here to visit my blog “What is Art Therapy?”.