How We Treat

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based form of psychotherapy that focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thought patterns, emotional responses, and behaviors. By helping individuals recognize the connection between their thoughts, feelings, and actions, CBT empowers them to challenge distorted thinking and develop healthier coping strategies. For anxiety disorders, CBT teaches skills such as exposure and cognitive restructuring to reduce avoidance and fear responses. In mood disorders like depression, it targets negative thinking cycles and promotes engagement in meaningful activities to improve mood. For eating disorders, CBT helps individuals challenge rigid food rules, address body image concerns, and reduce maladaptive behaviors around eating. Through its practical, goal-oriented approach, CBT equips clients with lifelong tools to manage symptoms and prevent relapse.

CBT-AR (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) is a structured, evidence-based treatment specifically designed to help individuals expand the variety and quantity of foods they eat while reducing anxiety and distress around eating. Tailored to the unique challenges of ARFID, CBT-AR addresses the three primary drivers of the disorder: sensory sensitivity, fear of aversive consequences (such as choking or vomiting), and lack of interest in eating. The therapy combines psychoeducation, gradual exposure to new or feared foods, and cognitive strategies to challenge unhelpful beliefs about eating. It also incorporates skills for managing sensory discomfort, increasing interoceptive awareness, and building positive mealtime experiences. For children, adolescents, and adults, CBT-AR fosters a supportive and collaborative approach, often involving family participation, to create consistent opportunities for food exploration. By systematically addressing both the behavioral and emotional components of ARFID, CBT-AR helps individuals improve nutrition, reduce eating-related anxiety, and build long-term confidence with food.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an evidence-based psychotherapy that helps individuals increase psychological flexibility by learning to accept difficult thoughts and feelings rather than trying to eliminate them. Rooted in mindfulness and values-based living, ACT teaches clients to observe their internal experiences without judgment, identify what truly matters to them, and commit to actions that align with those values. For anxiety disorders, ACT reduces the struggle with worry and fear by fostering acceptance and present-moment awareness. In mood disorders, it helps individuals disentangle from depressive thinking patterns and engage in meaningful activities despite low mood. For eating disorders, ACT supports clients in reducing the influence of body image distress and food-related thoughts on their behavior, allowing them to make choices based on health and personal values rather than rigid rules. By focusing on acceptance, mindfulness, and purposeful action, ACT helps people live fuller, more values-driven lives even in the presence of discomfort.

Exposure therapy is a highly effective, evidence-based treatment that helps individuals reduce fear, anxiety, and avoidance by gradually and repeatedly confronting feared situations, sensations, or memories in a safe and controlled way. Grounded in the principle of habituation and inhibitory learning, it works by teaching the brain that the feared stimulus is not inherently dangerous, which decreases anxiety over time. For anxiety disorders, such as phobias, panic disorder, and OCD, exposure therapy helps break the cycle of avoidance that maintains symptoms. In mood disorders, particularly when fear of certain situations or feelings contributes to withdrawal, exposure can encourage re-engagement with meaningful activities. For eating disorders, exposure therapy is used to reduce distress around feared foods, body image triggers, or eating in public, helping clients build tolerance and flexibility. By confronting fears systematically, clients develop confidence, reduce symptom severity, and reclaim parts of life that avoidance once limited.

Biofeedback and neurofeedback are therapeutic techniques that help individuals gain greater awareness and control over physiological processes that are typically automatic, such as heart rate, muscle tension, breathing, or brainwave activity. Using specialized sensors, biofeedback provides real-time visual or auditory feedback on these bodily functions, allowing clients to learn strategies—such as relaxation, breath control, or muscle release—to regulate their stress response. Neurofeedback, a specific form of biofeedback, measures brainwave patterns via EEG and trains individuals to shift these patterns toward healthier, more balanced activity. For anxiety disorders, these techniques can help calm the nervous system and improve emotional regulation. In mood disorders, neurofeedback may support more stable brain activity linked to focus and mood balance. For eating disorders, biofeedback and neurofeedback can be used to reduce physiological stress responses, improve interoceptive awareness, and support recovery from dysregulated patterns related to anxiety, perfectionism, or body image. By making the invisible processes of the body and brain visible, these tools empower clients to build self-regulation skills that support lasting change.

Communication is a fundamental human right.  For some invididuals, talking isn't the easiest or most effective way to express themselves.  That's where AAC comes in.  AAC includes all the ways people communicate besides talking, with the goal of helping individuals express their wants, needs, ideas, and feelings.  It's about opening up a world of possibilities for connection and participation.

This is the overarching philosophy that guides our work.  We believe that neurodiversity is a natural and positive part of being human.  We celebrate differences and support clients to be authentically themselves.

Sometimes, children may use challenging behaviors to communicate unmet needs.  This approach helps us understand the reason behind those behaviors and teach your child more effective ways to express themselves.

We pay close attention to the client's communication attempts, even if they aren't using words.  By responding sensitively and encouragingly, we help them learn to communicate more effectively. 

Mealtimes should be enjoyable!  This approach focuses on building a trusting relationship with the client around food.  We pay attention to their cues and preferences, creating a pressure-free environment where they feel safe to explore new tastes and textures.

Many neurodivergent individuals have sensory sensitivities that can affect their eating.  This approach helps address those sensitivities by offering a variety of food textures and temperatures, using visual supports, and creating predictable mealtime routines.

This approach is all about helping the client participate in activities that are meaningful to them.  We work with the client to identify goals and supports for achieving them, whether it's playing with friends, attending school events, or something else entirely.

This approach focuses on building strong relationships and emotional connections as the foundation for learning and communication.  Therapists follow your lead and interests during play-based activities to help them develop social, emotional, and communication skills naturally.

The SCERTS Model is like a roadmap that helps children with ASD and their families navigate the world.  It provides a framework for understanding the child's strengths and challenges, setting meaningful goals, and creating a supportive environment where the child can thrive.  It's about helping children develop the skills they need to connect with others, manage their emotions, and participate fully in life.