My approach

As a child and adolescent psychologist, my work with a family starts with a thorough assessment. This generally involves 2-3 sessions including a session with the young person and their parents, a parent only session, and an individual session with the child or adolescent. This allows me to gather the information necessary to not only understand what the concerns are, but why things are difficult. I then meet with parents again to share what I’ve heard, discuss a plan for treatment, and ensure we have a shared understanding of the difficulties being experienced. This allows us to work together towards shared goals for therapy.

Following the initial clinical assessment, a plan will be made with the young person and family about the most appropriate type of intervention. When working with children and adolescents, the most effective treatment often involves supporting parents alongside seeing the child or adolescent. At times, the most helpful intervention may be to see the child or adolescent together with their parent or caregiver, or it may be to work with parents/caregivers on their own.

When working with a family, I draw on a range of evidence-based treatment frameworks, including those informed by attachment theory, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). I approach the work with compassion, curiosity, and empathy, and hope to build a strong relationship with the families I work with.