I pride myself on being more than just someone to listen, but someone to help you look at things a different way.
It all starts with a healthy mind, and a fresh perspective. From there, focusing on your well-being, mental and emotional health, and physical wellness comes into play like never before. You’re taking the first steps on a journey, but you’re not taking them alone.
Whatever obstacles and struggles someone may be going through in life, I consider it a privilege to help them deal with. I understand that the patients I see are entrusting me to give them the right resources to guide them down a new path, with a new perspective, so they can achieve their own goals. With a healthy balance of listening, guiding, and even learning, I take pride in using my own experience and resources to help people really start off on the right foot on that path. Whether you, or someone you know struggles with something like depression, or simply wants a different outlook on their life, it’s something to work through together, and by setting up a consultation, we can get started.
My areas of expertise:
ADHD
Anxiety
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Anger Management
Academic Problems
Behavioral Difficulties
Coping Skills Building
Life’s Changes
Loss and Grief
Sibling Rivalry
Social Skills Difficulties
Self Esteem Issues
Trauma
As a professional therapist, my role is to guide you as you take steps towards positive life changes, healing, and a healthy mind. Together we’ll work to uncover and better understand life’s challenges and day-to-day stressors that detract from your life and focus, and begin identifying and practicing things that will make you stronger.
I consider all my patients to be more than just another name, or an appointment. Therapy is meant to be a completely individual experience, and I treat it as such, with deep compassion and absolutely no judgment. Not only do I want to provide support and encouragement for each of my clients, but it’s my goal to offer them practical resources that they can put into practice immediately in their lives. I used both modern approaches and tried and true methods to fit each client’s individual needs with understanding, no matter who they are, or their particular walk of life. Everyone can achieve more personal growth and strength, and it’s an honor to work on that together.
Play Therapy is an effective modality for a number of behavioral difficulties and disorders.
Play is a fun, enjoyable activity that elevates our spirits and brightens our outlook on life. It expands self-expression, self-knowledge, self-actualization and self-efficacy. Play relieves feelings of stress and boredom, connects us to people in a positive way, stimulates creative thinking and exploration, regulates our emotions, and boosts our ego (Landreth, 2002). In addition, play allows us to practice skills and roles needed for survival. Learning and development are best fostered through play (Russ, 2004).
Here is an informative video from The Association for Play Therapy (APT):
“Introducing Andrew”
The Association for Play Therapy (APT) is a national professional society established in 1982 and located in Clovis, California. It is a California mutual benefit corporation exempt from federal taxation per Section 501(c)(6) of the IRS Code. Steady membership growth since its inception has allowed APT to develop into a vibrant organization comprised of professionals in all mental health fields across the world.
APT has developed a brief video, Play Therapy Works!, that speaks to the value of play, play therapy, credentialed play therapists, and membership in the Association for Play Therapy. To view this video please see below.
The Benefits of Play Therapy:
- Promotes understanding of feelings and experiences
- Promotes joy and well being
- Increase self control and self esteem
- Play a non threatening way to explore difficulties and seek solutions
- Play is the way that children better express themselves and learn about their world.
Therapy is a process used to address and resolve problematic behaviors, thoughts, beliefs, and/or relationships.
It allows an individual a supportive environment where he/she can speak openly with someone who is objective and nonjudgmental. There are false beliefs that therapy is for people who “have something wrong with them.” This is unfortunate because therapy can be a very beneficial tool for most people.
Group counseling provides its members a sense of belonging, interpersonal interaction, support, different perspectives and motivation toward change.
Bloom In Counseling runs small group sessions with a specific focus on:
- Increasing self esteem
- Social skills
- Managing anger
- Increasing coping skills
Please contact us to inquire about our group themes and dates.