Specializing in others:
If you are a highly sensitive teen or young adult navigating the pressures of school, relationships, identity, and self-worth—or if you are a parent looking for thoughtful, experienced care for your child—this work may be a good fit.
Adolescence and young adulthood can be especially challenging for highly sensitive people. You may feel deeply, notice what others miss, and find yourself overwhelmed by the noise, speed, and intensity of the world around you. You may also feel like you have to hide your sensitivity, perform ease, or change yourself to fit in.
Therapy is a space where you do not have to perform or justify your depth. It is a place to explore who you are, understand your nervous system, and develop the self-trust and resilience you need to navigate life authentically.
Therapy for Teens & Young Adults
Struggle with body image or disordered eating. Perhaps you feel uncomfortable in your body, compare yourself to others, or find yourself caught in cycles of restriction, guilt, or anxiety around food. You may feel like your body is a problem to solve.
Feel overwhelmed by social pressures and expectations. You may notice everything—how people look at you, what they say, what they do not say—and it can feel exhausting to navigate friendships, school, or family dynamics when you feel so much.
Are highly sensitive and wondering if something is wrong with you. You may have been told you are "too sensitive," "too emotional," or "overthinking everything." You feel deeply, and sometimes that feels like a burden instead of a strength.
Are navigating identity and self-acceptance. You may be figuring out who you are beyond what others expect—your values, your interests, your sense of self—and it can feel both exciting and disorienting.
You Might Be Here Because You
Experience anxiety, perfectionism, or self-criticism. You may hold yourself to high standards, replay conversations in your mind, or feel like you are never doing enough. The pressure can feel relentless.
Therapy with me is collaborative, respectful, and paced to honor your nervous system. I do not talk down to teens or young adults, and I do not treat you like you need to be fixed. Instead, we work together to help you understand yourself more clearly, develop self-compassion, and build the skills you need to navigate the world as a highly sensitive person.
We might focus on:
Understanding your highly sensitive nervous system — Learning what high sensitivity is, how it shows up for you, and why it is a strength, not a flaw.
Body image and self-worth — Developing a more compassionate relationship with your body and untangling from the harmful messages of diet culture and social media.
Food freedom and intuitive eating — If you are struggling with disordered eating or anxiety around food, we work toward reconnecting with your body's signals and rebuilding trust.
Identity development and self-acceptance — Exploring who you are, what matters to you, and how to live more authentically without constantly adjusting to fit in.
Managing anxiety, overwhelm, and perfectionism — Building self-compassion, cognitive flexibility, and strategies to regulate your nervous system.
Social dynamics and relationships — Navigating friendships, family relationships, and social pressures while staying grounded in yourself.
Longstanding patterns that no longer serve you — Making sense of your history and creating space for change.
How We Work Together
I integrate evidence-based psychological approaches with mindfulness and body-based practices to support regulation, insight, and meaningful change. Therapy is warm, curious, and grounded—not preachy or motivational.
I am a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, Licensed Body Positive Facilitator, and Certified Yoga Teacher with advanced training in yoga for mental health. I also bring more than 25 years of experience working with highly sensitive people, particularly in the areas of eating disorders, body image, and identity development.
This is not a surface-level or symptom-only approach. We attend to the emotional, cognitive, and embodied layers of your experience, and we work at a pace that respects your nervous system.
My Approach
If you are seeking therapy for your teen, you may have noticed they are struggling in ways that feel difficult to name or address. Perhaps they are withdrawing, anxious, critical of themselves, or navigating body image concerns or disordered eating.
I understand that finding the right therapist for your child is not just about credentials—it is about fit, trust, and whether your teen feels seen and respected. My goal is to help your teen develop self-awareness, self-compassion, and the tools they need to navigate the world as a highly sensitive person—without losing the depth and sensitivity that makes them who they are.
I am happy to collaborate with parents while maintaining appropriate confidentiality with your teen. We will discuss what this looks like during our initial consultation.
For Parents
We typically meet weekly for 50-minute sessions. Therapy is a space where you do not have to perform, explain yourself, or justify your sensitivity. Clients often describe me as warm, steady, and deeply attentive. I listen carefully—not only to what is said, but to what may be happening beneath the surface.
My goal is to help you feel more grounded in yourself, more at ease in your body, and more confident in navigating the world as a highly sensitive person—without losing the depth that makes you who you are.
What to Expect
Frequently Asked Questions
I work with teens ages 14 and up, as well as young adults through age 25. If your teen is younger than 14, I am happy to provide referrals to colleagues who specialize in working with younger adolescents.
No. While many of my teen and young adult clients are highly sensitive, this is not required. I work with teens and young adults on a range of concerns including body image, eating disorders, anxiety, identity development, perfectionism, and social pressures. If you feel deeply, become easily overwhelmed, or notice things others miss, therapy that honors sensitivity may be especially helpful—but you do not need to identify as highly sensitive to benefit from this work.
No. Therapy is most effective when it feels collaborative, not coercive. If you are here because your parents wanted you to come, that is okay—we can start there. You do not have to share everything right away, and you do not have to perform or pretend to be fine. My goal is to create a space where you feel respected, not lectured or pushed. We will talk about what you actually want from therapy (if anything), and we will go at your pace.
No. Therapy is confidential, which means what you share with me stays between us—with a few important exceptions. I am required by law to break confidentiality if there is a risk of harm to yourself or others, or if there is suspected abuse or neglect. Beyond those situations, what you share is private.
That said, therapy works best when parents are involved in appropriate ways. We will discuss what this looks like for you—what feels okay to share with your parents, what needs to stay private, and how to balance your need for confidentiality with your parents' need to support you. I will not share details of our sessions without your permission, but I may check in with your parents periodically about general progress or ways they can support you at home.
That is completely normal. Many people come to therapy not knowing what to say or where to start. You do not need to have a script or a plan. I will ask questions, we will explore what is going on in your life, and we will figure out together what feels important to focus on. Therapy is a conversation, not a performance.
Yes. I have extensive experience working with teens and young adults navigating eating disorders, disordered eating, and body image concerns. My approach is HAES-aligned and anti-diet, which means we focus on body respect and rebuilding a healthy relationship with food and your body—not on weight loss or appearance-based goals. If you are struggling with food, eating, or how you feel about your body, this is a space where those concerns are taken seriously.
Yes. I have extensive experience working with teens and young adults navigating eating disorders, disordered eating, and body image concerns. My approach is HAES-aligned and anti-diet, which means we focus on body respect and rebuilding a healthy relationship with food and your body—not on weight loss or appearance-based goals. If you are struggling with food, eating, or how you feel about your body, this is a space where those concerns are taken seriously.
I work with LGBTQ+ teens and young adults, and I approach identity exploration with respect, affirmation, and curiosity. Therapy is a space where you can explore who you are without judgment or pressure to have everything figured out. If you are navigating questions about gender, sexuality, or identity, we can talk about that at whatever pace feels comfortable for you.
For Parents
This depends on your teen's age, the nature of their concerns, and what feels appropriate for their development. For younger teens (14-16), I typically have periodic check-ins with parents to discuss general progress and ways to support your teen at home. For older teens and young adults (17+), therapy is more independent, and I will only involve you with your teen's permission—except in cases where safety is a concern.
We will discuss the structure of parental involvement during our initial consultation and adjust as needed throughout treatment.
Not without your teen's permission, except in cases where safety is a concern. Adolescents need privacy to build trust and open up in therapy. While I understand the desire to know what is happening in your teen's sessions, confidentiality is essential for effective therapy.
That said, I will communicate with you about general progress, themes we are working on, and ways you can support your teen at home—without sharing specific details of what was said in session. If your teen is in crisis or at risk of harm, I will involve you immediately.
It depends. If your teen is resistant but you are concerned about their well-being—significant changes in mood, withdrawal, disordered eating, self-harm, or worsening anxiety—it may be worth having an initial consultation to assess whether therapy is appropriate. Some teens benefit from therapy even when they are initially reluctant, especially if they feel respected rather than forced.
However, if your teen is adamantly opposed and there is no immediate safety concern, forcing therapy may backfire. In that case, I am happy to consult with you as a parent about how to support your teen and when to revisit the idea of therapy.
Yes. With your permission and your teen's consent, I am happy to collaborate with school counselors, teachers, psychiatrists, medical providers, or other members of your teen's support system. Coordinated care is often most effective, especially when addressing concerns like ADHD, anxiety, eating disorders, or learning differences.
