Therapy for
Kids and Teens Navigating Anxiety, Big Feelings, and Everything in Between
For when you want to support your child in feeling more confident, capable, and able to handle what’s coming up
Maybe your child is melting down, shutting down, avoiding things, or asking the same question over and over for reassurance.
Maybe your teen is overwhelmed by school, friendships, body image, anxiety, OCD, ADHD, or the pressure to keep it all together.
From the outside, it might look like a phase.
But inside, something feels off, intense, or hard to manage.
Therapy gives adolescents a space to understand what’s happening, feel less alone in it, and build tools that actually help.
Temperance Psychotherapy offers individual therapy for kids and teens in-person in Longwood, FL and virtually throughout Florida.
What Therapy Can Help Your Child/Teen With
Therapy can be helpful if your child or teen is dealing with:
Anxiety, overthinking, or panic
OCD thoughts, compulsions, or reassurance-seeking
Emetophobia (fear of vomiting) and related avoidance
Body image struggles or disordered eating concerns
High-functioning ADHD and emotional regulation challenges
Body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) like hair pulling or skin picking
Perfectionism and people-pleasing
School stress or academic pressure
Friendship stress or social anxiety
Low mood, irritability, or withdrawal
Big emotions, shutdowns, or meltdowns
Life transitions, family changes, or grief
Trauma, emotional overwhelm, or feeling disconnected
Your child does not need to be in crisis to start therapy.
They also do not need to have the right words to explain what’s wrong.
Sometimes the starting point is simply:
“Something isn’t working, and we don’t know what to do.”
My Approach
Therapy that is collaborative, practical, and very human
I do not believe kids and teens need another adult telling them to “just calm down” or “use your coping skills” without actually helping them understand how.
My style is active, warm, and collaborative. I help kids and teens make sense of what’s happening in their brains and bodies, build skills that feel doable in real life, and learn how to communicate what they need.
I also believe your child is not the problem.
The patterns they’re stuck in are.
I work with kids and teens who feel caught in cycles like anxiety, OCD, emetophobia, or body-focused repetitive behaviors like hair pulling or skin picking. These patterns can feel confusing, frustrating, and hard to stop, even when they want to.
Together, we focus on understanding what is driving these patterns and building practical, evidence-based strategies to shift them in a way that feels manageable, not overwhelming.
In our work together,
I may use approaches from:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Trauma-informed therapy
Skills-based and insight-oriented work
Play-based therapy techniques
Parent coaching and support
Translation: we will talk, but we will also
do something with what we talk about.
Parent involvement
When working with children and teens, parents are often part of the process.
Depending on your child’s age and needs, that may include:
Parent check-ins
Support with communication
Guidance on how to respond to anxiety, avoidance, or emotional overwhelm
Helping you feel more confident in how to support your child
The goal is not to “fix” your child.
The goal is to help them feel more understood, more capable, and more supported.
What Sessions Might Look Like
Child and teen therapy may include:
Understanding patterns in thoughts, emotions, and behaviors
Learning how anxiety, OCD, ADHD, or stress shows up in their body
Understanding how avoidance keeps fears (like emetophobia) going
Gradually facing fears in a supported, manageable way
Building awareness around urges like hair pulling or skin picking
Learning alternative responses for BFRBs
Practicing coping skills before things feel overwhelming
Building emotional regulation skills
Working on communication and asking for help
Reducing avoidance in small, realistic steps
Challenging perfectionism and all-or-nothing thinking
Supporting body image and self-trust
Helping parents respond in ways that support progress
Some sessions may feel practical and skills-based.
Some may feel more reflective.
Some may include humor, creativity, or play, depending on what feels most helpful for your child.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Usually, yes, especially with younger children. With teens, we balance parent involvement with your teen’s need for privacy and trust.
Prior to beginning ongoing sessions, parents are required to participate in a separate intake appointment.
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Most clients start with weekly sessions, especially in the beginning. Depending on your goals, symptoms, and schedule, we can talk about whether weekly, biweekly, or another rhythm makes sense.
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Yes. I work with anxiety, panic, OCD, reassurance-seeking, avoidance, emetophobia, as well as body-focused repetitive behaviors like trichotillomania (hair pulling) and skin picking.
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Yes. Eating disorders, body image, disordered eating, and recovery support are major areas of focus in my work.
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Yes. I offer in-person therapy at my office located in Longwood, FL. I also offer virtual therapy for clients located in Florida, New Jersey, and Vermont.
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I do not accept insurance directly. I am an out-of-network provider and can provide superbills. I also use Thrizer, which may help simplify the reimbursement process depending on your benefits. You can read more about fees and insurance here.
Ready to get started?
You do not have to keep managing this on your own.
Therapy can help you feel more steady, clear, and able to respond to things in a way that actually works for you.