My approach
The Importance of Rapport
One of the most important things I have learned working as a Psychologist is that the rapport I develop with the adolescent, and parent is fundamental for creating positive development/change. To me, it is of pivotal importance to make sure your adolescent feels understood, that they can trust me, and their feelings and thoughts are validated by listening and empathising.
No single approach fits all
As human beings we are complex, and our experiences, personality styles, and challenges can be very different, so I find that there is no single approach that fits all. Therefore my approach is integrative which means that I draw on elements from different therapies depending on the person and their challenges.
I am trained in Mentalization-based Therapy (MBT) by teachers from Anna Freud institute in London.
MBT is a very useful and an evidence-based approach for adolescents struggling with interpersonal and emotional difficulties. When relevant, I integrate skill training from Dialectic Behavioral Therapy (DBT), which in many ways overlaps with MBT but provides more specific skills.
I am also trained in Systemic Therapy, which involves being attentive to patterns of behavior or relationships in groups of people, such as families, or in school, and how that influences the adolescents' mental wellbeing.
Furthermore, I have experience with Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) which involves understanding the relationship between thoughts, emotions, and behavior. CBT is helpful particularly with anxiety, and behavioral activation is very useful for working with depression
Focus on the individual and their wider context
I work both individually with your adolescent and with the system or context around your adolescent. That means I will have individual sessions with your adolescent where I will be working with their understanding of themselves and their inner mental life. I will be helping them to understand the connection between their thoughts, emotions, body sensations, and behavior. Also, we will be working on developing useful coping strategies and thinking patterns.
The relationship to you as parents and their peers are of pivotal importance. If needed, I will involve you as parents and/or establish a working relationship with their school. I often find that working with the social context at school will have an important positive influence on your adolescent's mental well-being.