Young Adult Therapy
Navigating the transition from adolescence to adulthood can be both exciting and overwhelming. Young adulthood often brings major life changes—starting college, entering the workforce, building relationships, and discovering personal identity. These shifts can also come with challenges like anxiety, stress, self-doubt, and difficulty managing expectations.
For many young adults, this period can also be a time of exploring and understanding neurodivergence. Whether you are navigating a recent diagnosis of autism or ADHD, or you have long recognized your neurodivergent identity, therapy can provide a supportive space to process these experiences. Embracing neurodiversity means recognizing that there is no one "right" way to think, learn, or experience the world, and I am here to help you celebrate your unique strengths while addressing any challenges you may face.
I offer therapy for young adults, ages 18-35, to support you through this pivotal stage of life. Whether you are dealing with academic or career pressures, relationship issues, self-esteem struggles, or feeling uncertain about your direction, I provide a safe, non-judgmental space where you can explore your experiences and make progress toward your goals.
Together, we will develop coping strategies, build emotional resilience, and strengthen your confidence, so you can face life’s challenges with clarity and purpose. My approach is personalized to ensure your unique goals and needs are always at the center of our work.
Areas I Provide Therapy For
Autism: Supporting individuals in navigating the complexities of autism, including social interactions, anxiety, sensory sensitivities, and masking (the effort to hide one's autistic traits to fit in), which can lead to emotional exhaustion. I also focus on identifying and celebrating the unique strengths and talents that come with being autistic, fostering self-confidence, personal growth, and self-advocacy skills.
ADHD: Helping manage attention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity challenges, while developing strategies to improve focus, organization, and self-regulation. I also work to identify and harness the unique strengths often associated with ADHD, such as creativity, energy, and problem-solving abilities and provide support in developing self-advocacy skills.
Intellectual Disability: Providing supportive therapy tailored to enhance life skills, independence, and emotional well-being.
Developmental Disabilities: Addressing unique developmental challenges, such as those related to Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), while fostering personal growth, social skills, and emotional resilience.
Chronic Illness and Medical Complexity: Supporting emotional health while managing the ongoing stress, uncertainty, and lifestyle adjustments that accompany chronic health conditions, including Type 1 diabetes (T1D), cancer/leukemia, seizure disorders/epilepsy, and cystic fibrosis (CF).
School Issues: Assisting with academic pressures, learning challenges, and navigating school environments, including college transitions.
LGBTQ+ Support: Offering affirming therapy for LGBTQ+ individuals navigating identity and relationships.
Adoption: Exploring identity, attachment, and relationship issues related to adoption, including feelings of belonging and family dynamics.
Trauma and PTSD: Providing evidence-based therapies to help process traumatic experiences, reduce distress, and foster healing.
Social Challenges: Helping improve social skills, build confidence in interactions, and navigate complex social environments.
Social Anxiety: Supporting individuals in overcoming fears related to social situations and building confidence in interpersonal interactions.
OCD: Treatment to help young adults manage intrusive thoughts and reduce compulsive behaviors using evidence-based approaches like Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP/ExRP).
Anxiety: Support to help navigate worry, avoidance, and stress through practical, skills-based interventions tailored to life transitions and daily demands.
ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder): Address persistent feeding challenges, whether related to sensory issues, limited appetite, or food-related anxiety, and build more flexible eating habits, using approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for ARFID (CBT-AR).
Grief: Assisting with coping after the loss of a loved one, processing grief, and finding ways to move forward while honoring your loss.
My Approach
I take an integrative approach to therapy, adapting techniques to meet your specific needs and goals. Depending on what feels most helpful to you, I use the following evidence-based and supportive methods:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): An evidence-based approach focused on identifying and changing unhelpful thought patterns and behaviors. CBT helps you recognize negative thinking patterns, challenge them, and replace them with more constructive thoughts, leading to healthier emotions and actions. Additionally, CBT equips you with practical coping skills for situations where changing thought patterns may not be appropriate, allowing you to manage distress effectively in the moment.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): An evidence-based therapy that combines mindfulness with skills to regulate emotions, tolerate distress, and improve relationships. DBT is particularly helpful for managing intense emotions, enhancing interpersonal effectiveness, and building resilience.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): This approach encourages you to accept difficult thoughts and feelings rather than fighting them, while committing to actions that align with your core values. ACT helps you live a more meaningful life, even in the presence of challenges.
Exposure Therapy: An evidence-based method for gradually facing fears and anxieties in a safe, controlled environment. By confronting avoided situations or thoughts, exposure therapy helps reduce fear responses and build confidence.
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP/ExRP): An evidence-based treatment for OCD that helps individuals gradually confront feared thoughts, images, or situations while learning to resist compulsive responses in a supportive, goal-oriented process.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT): Combines cognitive therapy techniques with mindfulness practices to help you manage stress, anxiety, and depression. MBCT promotes present-moment awareness and reduces the tendency to get caught up in negative thought cycles.
Attachment-Based Therapy: Focuses on understanding how early relationships and attachment patterns influence current emotional experiences and relationships. This approach helps foster healthier connections and emotional security.
Behavioral Activation: An evidence-based approach aimed at combating depression by encouraging engagement in meaningful, enjoyable activities. This method helps break the cycle of avoidance and inactivity that often accompanies low mood.
Motivational Interviewing: A collaborative, goal-oriented approach designed to enhance your motivation and commitment to change. This technique is particularly effective when you're feeling ambivalent about making life changes.
Prolonged Exposure Therapy: An evidence-based treatment for trauma-related disorders that involves safely revisiting and processing traumatic memories to reduce distress and promote healing.
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT): An evidence-based therapy for trauma that focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful beliefs and thoughts related to the traumatic experience. CPT helps reduce feelings of guilt, shame, and fear.
Problem-Solving Therapy: An evidence-based approach that equips you with practical strategies to address life's challenges and reduce stress. It helps you break down overwhelming problems into manageable steps and develop effective solutions.
Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP): An evidence-based, transdiagnostic approach designed to treat a range of emotional disorders by targeting common underlying factors. UP integrates cognitive-behavioral strategies with emotion regulation techniques, helping you better understand and manage your emotions across different life situations.
Finding Solid Ground Program: A structured approach specifically designed to support individuals dealing with complex trauma and dissociative symptoms. This program focuses on grounding techniques, stabilization strategies, and building a sense of safety and control, helping you navigate the challenges associated with trauma recovery.
All of my therapeutic approaches are:
Neurodiversity-Affirming: Embracing and respecting diverse ways of interpreting and experiencing the world, including autism, ADHD, and other developmental differences. This approach values individual strengths and promotes self-acceptance, while also providing support for accompanying challenges.
Solution-Focused: Prioritizing practical strategies and forward-thinking approaches to help you achieve your goals efficiently. This method emphasizes your current strengths and resources to create positive change.
Strength-Based: Highlighting your existing skills, talents, and resources to foster resilience and personal growth. By focusing on your strengths, we can build confidence and empowerment.
Culturally Sensitive: Acknowledging and respecting your cultural background, values, and experiences so therapy is tailored to your unique identity and lived experiences.
Trauma-Informed: Creating a safe, supportive environment that recognizes the impact of trauma on mental health. This approach prioritizes your emotional safety, autonomy, and empowerment throughout the therapeutic process.
Together, we will find the approach that feels right for you, ensuring that therapy is both effective and empowering.