Childhood and adolescence are seasons of rapid growth, but persistent worry can make daily life feel overwhelming. When a child or young person experiences heightened anxiety, school stress, separation distress, or severe emotional roadblocks, it impacts the entire family.

My approach to child and youth anxiety therapy in Bellingham is rooted in safety, play, and neurobiology. I meet clients right where they are and together, we work to process difficult emotions, regulate the nervous system, and build a personal toolkit for life’s challenges.

Areas of Support

I provide specialized anxiety counseling to families in Whatcom County for a range of challenges, including:

• Early Childhood & Pediatric Anxiety: Helping children (ages 4–12) process separation anxiety, nighttime fears, phobias, and school refusal using gentle, play-based methods and expressive art.

• Parenting & Family Support: Partnering directly with parents to build concrete home strategies, reduce accommodation around worries, and build caregiver confidence using evidence-based frameworks like SPACE.

• Teen & Young Adult Stress: Guiding adolescents and young adults through social anxiety, academic pressure, panic, and identity development during major life transitions.

• Perfectionism & Emotional Regulation: Teaching practical grounding tools to relieve high-functioning anxiety, manage big physical sensations, and build authentic self-esteem.

• Trauma Recovery: Healing from accidents, loss, bullying, or medical trauma.

A Specialized Approach to Child & Youth Anxiety

Working with children and adolescents requires far more than "small-scale adult therapy." I use evidence-based, developmentally tailored tools designed to meet young minds where they are and help regulate their nervous system:

• Play and Art-Informed Therapy: For younger children, play is their primary language. We use creative expression and play-based tools to process fears, separation anxiety, and big emotions that are often too complex to articulate in words.

• Nature-Based Therapy: Taking sessions outdoors into Bellingham’s green spaces allows nature to act as a co-therapist. Whether through mindful "walk-and-talk" sessions or sensory outdoor grounding, nature helps lower cortisol levels and calms anxious body responses outside the traditional four walls.

• Collaborative Parent Coaching: You are the ultimate expert on your child. I work directly with parents and caregivers across Whatcom County to share concrete, actionable tools at home—ensuring the coping strategies learned in therapy translate into lasting peace and stability for the whole family.