Clinical Practice
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, clinical supervisor, educator, speaker, and community advocate.
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, clinical supervisor, educator, speaker, and community advocate. I treat clients individually and in groups alongside a multidisciplinary team at Parkaire Consultants. I specialize in complex mental and behavioral disorders and work with clients from elementary school through adulthood. I train students, counselors, social workers, and psychiatric nurse practitioners at Parkaire Consultants in Marietta, Georgia.
Theoretical Orientation
My understanding of clients is guided by the medical model and evidence based practice. I integrate relevant current research and clinical experience to provide diagnosis and treatment based on scientific evidence and medical consensus. Psychoeducation is at the core of my orientation and I enjoy teaching clients and client families about the brain and the science behind our work together. In session, I make use of existential therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure therapy, interpersonal process therapy, and psychodynamic therapy.
Individual Therapy
I see clients for individual therapy typically on a weekly basis. Many of my clients face challenges related to ADHD, OCD, Tourette Syndrome, Anxiety, Depression, Mood Disorders, and Autism. It is not uncommon that my clients face multiple diagnoses in addition to challenges with sensory processing and learning disabilities. I enjoy adapting my therapy to different learning and processing needs and I especially enjoy teaching families how to best conceptualize these frameworks without over identifying the child with diagnostic language and labels.
Diagnostic Screening
As part of my work at Parkaire Consultants, I perform diagnostic intakes on new clients entering our practice. I review previous psychological evaluations, IEP’s, 504’s, medication, and treatment history. I spend two hours with both the parents and child in an effort to provide diagnostic direction and suggest appropriate evidence based interventions.
Medication Management
I frequently evaluate cases with multiple diagnoses and often come across clients who are struggling to understand and adhere to complex medication regimens from psychiatrists. I enjoy collaborating with prescribers and believe effective communication between prescribers and therapists can make or break a case. My goal is that my clients have age appropriate understanding of their medications, possible side effects, risks, and options.
Executive Functioning
All children struggle with some weakness in executive functioning. Children and adults diagnosed with ADHD and ASD tend to struggle with more significant weaknesses. I help these clients and families learn how to encourage better planning, initiation, shifting, inhibition, organization, sequencing, prioritization, pacing, and attention. If needed, I also help individual teachers better support students with weaknesses in executive functioning.
Exposure Therapy
One of the most rewarding aspects of my work is practicing Exposure Therapy with OCD and phobias. Exposure Therapy is simple and effective and often times offers global benefits to a client struggling with anxiety, avoidance, phobias, obsessions, and/or compulsions. Exposure Therapy guides a client to lean in to difficult experiences of distress to develop resilience and fortitude while demonstrating competence over life’s obstacles.
Behavior Programs
Most children in my practice struggle in some way with behavior. Often times parents struggle to know when to push and when to accommodate a child. I work with families to establish practical and effective behavior plans that respect a child’s limitations while encouraging responsibility and agency.
Group Therapy
I run the High School Social Skills group at Parkaire consultants. We typically have anywhere from 5-12 teenagers in attendance every Wednesday at 5:00. Students are taught social skills from a lesson based psychoeducational model that helps them understand themselves and their peers. Our group makes use of role play, comedy, processing, education, story telling, and skits. Our group has held field days, fundraisers, and parties to teach social skills in the real world. Our group is frequently the highlight of my week and offers our students a sense of community and solidarity that translates into greater self esteem and social openness.
Reviewing Psychological Evaluations
Many of my clients come into the practice with an existing psychological or educational evaluation. Sometimes I may refer a client for a psychological evaluation to gain diagnostic clarity or insight into a client’s learning. Often times, these evaluations can be difficult to understand in practical terms. I routinely assist parents and clients in understanding evaluations and enjoy helping educators, therapists, and prescribers make use of evaluations in ways that respect a clients specific needs.