Individual therapy with pre-teens, teenagers & adults

Depending on the individual’s developmental stage, needs, and emotional maturity, talk therapy is predominantly used. This process involves talking about obstacles in one’s life. The focus might be anxiety, grief, sadness, trauma, anger, problems in school /in the workplace, struggles with peers, or concerns with communication in other significant relationships. EMDR can also be used, depending on the issue being addressed. Individual counseling may occur in conjunction with family counseling. Depending on the age and needs of an individual adolescent, we may also request parent/guardian consultations when appropriate.

Family therapy

Sometimes families benefit from conversations and mediation in a safe environment. When working with families, we support each family member as well as the family as a whole. We work collaboratively with the family to improve communication and understanding, build stronger relationships, and find balance. Family therapy could include just one parent and one child who want to work on their relationship, it could be a session of just siblings, or it could include all members of a family, depending on the preferences and needs of the family in the moment.

Couples Counseling

Work with couples ranges from those who are seeking some support to fine tune their relationship to those who are experiencing significant stress and are questioning whether or not they want to remain together. Our approach is to gently explore areas of strength in the relationship and areas in which the relationship tends to get “stuck” in an effort to help support growth and connection between partners.

Group therapy

Groups create a safe protective environment in which to try out new behaviors and gain insight about how individuals experience themselves and others. In our groups we encourage each person to take risks and work on their desired areas of personal growth. In this context individuals find commonalities with others, experience support, gain feedback and reduce isolation.

Consultation/peer supervision

Elizabeth Olate, LISW-S, offers supervision/case consultation services to other clinicians seeking support and guidance for their clinical work and professional growth. This can be arranged on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis.