Professional Services
Play Therapy for Children
P.E.E.P.
Psychotherapy for Adults
Couples Counseling
Divorce Support
Parenting Support
Training and Supervision
Yoga and Meditation
Play Therapy for Children
Play therapy helps children express what is bothering them when they do not have the words or verbal ability to adequately express thoughts and feelings. As Gary Landreth says, "Toys are the child's words and play is the child's language." Through play, children are able to work through what is troubling them. As a Registered Play Therapist and Supervisor (having completed over 200 hours of specialized training in play therapy), I am able to observe themes and patterns in their play which help me to understand the child's world and experience. I am able to help children learn healthier and more adaptive behaviors. The relationship that develops between the child and me as her therapist during play therapy sessions provides a reparative emotional experience lending to healing and strengthening the child's sense of self. In support of a child's growth and healing in play therapy, I work very closely with parents and often other family members in order to facilitate positive shifts in the parent–child relationships and the whole family dynamic.
View this video on Play Therapy Works!
P.E.E.P. (Preschool Emotion Education Program)
In 2003, I developed an on–site preschool curriculum and program that addresses the needs of emotional and social development in children ages 2–5. As I tracked the progress of the young children participating in this program, along with reports from the preschool teachers and directors, I was amazed to see a dramatic reduction of aggressive behavior and a marked increase in adaptive expression of emotions, needs, and preferences in the classroom environment. Based on the concept of "emotion coaching" about which John Gottman, PhD, writes in his book, Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child, I trained teachers and parents in how to be "emotion coaches" for the children in their care, and I taught children mechanisms for identifying their emotions, expressing feelings adaptively, tools for self–soothing, and the means to feel and express empathy for others. In 2005, when I began seeing clients in a private practice setting, I began utilizing this curriculum one–on–one with preschoolers, combining the program's more directive approach with the non–directive techniques of play therapy with young children. Pairing this program with parenting training and filial therapy, I continue to see consistent positive results in assisting young children with their newly developing emotional and social skills.
Psychotherapy for Adults
In my office, I seek to provide a compassionate and non–judging space for individuals to express and explore patterns of thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors that may be blocking them from feeling a sense of balance and contentment in their lives. Through introspective conversation, verbal examination, awareness of the body's messages, written exercises, and many other creative methods, I help adults find ways to transcend self–defeating thoughts and behaviors and embrace new and more liberating perspectives and actions. Whether the presenting issues be loss of a loved ones, divorce, difficulty managing emotions, anxiety, depression, or a desire to deepen one's connections with self and others, I meet my clients where they are and provide support for developing a new way of seeing and moving through life.
Couples Counseling
I provide counseling support to couples before they marry, others during the marriage, and many who are going through the divorce process. Much like my work with adults in individual counseling, a space is created that is compassionate and non–judging, allowing couples to express and explore the patterns within the relationship. I provide more directive assistance through communication training and discovery exercises as well. The goal for all couples counseling whether entering a marriage, strengthening a marriage, or ending a marriage, is to build on respect for Self and Other as well as honoring the relationship itself in whatever stage it is in. Greater clarity, quality of communication, and vision for the relationship are the focal points.
Divorce Support
Divorce can be a very difficult process for children and parents no matter the circumstances. As I work with children and parents in my practice as a counselor, I have found that children and adults benefit tremendously from a variety of services during the divorce process or after the divorce has happened.
There is a new paradigm for the process of divorce called Collaborative Family Law in which a divorcing couple have a team of professionals who all work together to help a couple create lasting solutions that will work for every member of the family after the divorce, with particular focus on what is best for the children. Through the collaborative process, all matters related to the divorce are handled outside of the court setting. Legal, financial and mental health professionals all work together to support the two individuals divorcing and their children. After witnessing how high–conflict divorce litigation can have devastating effects on the parents and children, I became very interested in and supportive of collaborative divorce process. I pursued specific training through the Collaborative Law Institute of Georgia and now serve as a Child Specialist in collaborative divorce cases. As a Child Specialist, I work with children whose parents are divorcing in assessing what is in their best interest and I then support the parents in the development of a parenting plan which is a legal agreement addressing all of the important details of parenting time and decision making. My role as a Child Specialist is separate and apart from the work I do with as a therapist in support of children going through divorce.
Therapy and Support for Children of Divorce
Children benefit from having a place and a space to work through their emotions about their parents' divorce. Often, young children don't have the words to express what they are feeling but the feelings can be played out and worked through in play therapy. Older children benefit from talking about the divorce and gaining support and insight from the counseling relationship. I use a wide variety of age–appropriate activities to facilitate the process of healing and strengthening needed when children's parents are divorcing. I find that children who receive counseling support through divorce come through the process more confident in themselves and hopeful about their future.
Individual Therapy for Adults
Whether a divorce be collaborative or through the court system, the process of divorce is often fraught with difficult emotion. I provide individual therapy support for adults who are either in the stage of considering and contemplating divorce, those who are going through divorce, or those healing from a recent divorce.
Blended Families and Step–parent Support
When a divorce has already occurred and there is a re–marriage this often brings up a whole new set of challenges. I offer individual and family support for blended families and step–parents to help clarify the new roles and provide support in the process of creating a new concept and a new branch of family for the children.
Court
Court proceedings are often a breeding ground for increased stress and conflict. I encourage my clients to pursue collaborative law whenever possible, but in cases where trial proceedings necessarily develop, I do provide support from the standpoint of helping adults and children manage the stress of this experience. I no longer will appear in court on behalf of my clients as I do not believe it is in the best interest of my therapeutic relationships with my clients. I ask all of my divorcing clients to sign an agreement that they and their attorneys will not subpoena me to appear in court. If a Guardian Ad Litem and/or a Custody Evaluator is appointed by the Court, I will gladly provide an interview, but I will not testify in court. If you wish to work with a therapist who will provide court testimony, I have a list of therapists that I use for referral purposes.
Parenting Support
Parenting is the most challenging and most important job anyone who is a parent will ever have. There are no training manuals handed out at the birth of a child, and while there are lots of books available on the subject, it can often feel overwhelming for a parent. At any time, the stresses of parenting can get the best of anyone. I provide support for parents through seminars, support groups, and private consultation. I also provide counseling and psychotherapy support for parents in learning how to deal with the challenges of parenthood and how those challenges affect their emotional and mental health as well as their relationships. I combine philosophies and skills training that are rooted in hope and based on positive and solution–based theories. I believe in empowering parents in a positive and encouraging way to see this job of parenting as purposeful and to embrace it with greater consciousness.
Training and Supervision
I provide training for continuing education purposes for mental health professionals and early childhood educators on subjects that relate to the emotional and social development of children ages 2–11, play therapy, ethics, and professional development. In my trainings I seek to help professionals not only to obtain new skills and inspiration for the work they do with their clients and/or students but also to assist professionals in growing as "the person of the therapist," realizing that many therapists find that the conscious work to be aware of Self in their therapy with clients enriches the client-therapist relationship and the therapeutic experience for the client while also contributing to growth in the own therapist's personal lives which then cycles back to enabling therapists to be stronger and stronger therapists with their clients. I offer trainings locally, on site at Marietta Counseling for Children & Adults, LLC and I am available to provide trainings for other organizations outside of the state of Georgia as well.
I am a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor (RPT-S) providing professional supervision to fully licensed therapists seeking to become Registered Play Therapists (RPT) with Association for Play Therapy (www.a4pt.org). In my work with supervisees, again, I utilize an approach that honors and considers the person of the therapist. In supervision we do not explore personal issues except as these issues arise in the therapeutic process and we consider personal issues of the therapist only to the extent it is necessary to provide quality therapy with and for the client. This approach in supervision helps the therapist to to better use awareness of self to serve the client. In play therapy it is extremely important that therapists have clarity of transference and counter-transference in order to effectively "hold the space" for child clients and their process of working through. Supervision is offered in group and individual sessions and is only available to therapists already fully licensed by the State who are either seeking ongoing professional development or who are working toward being credentialed as RPT.
Yoga and Meditation
I am an Experienced- Registered Yoga Teacher ( E-RYT 200 hours) and in 2010 I opened The Yoga Room Marietta, LLC as an extension of Marietta Counseling for Children & Adults, LLC after many years of wanting to offer a space where people can step out of the frenzy and stress of everyday life and experience rejuvenation and relief through yoga and meditation. For my clients, I am able to combine the practice of yoga with my training and experience in the field of professional counseling in order to assist individuals with what can often be an even deeper level of healing and growth.
After many years of providing training in the art and practice of meditation and basic tai chi and chi kung, I now am able to conduct my classes on–site at The Yoga Room adjoined with Marietta Counseling offices. In my classes, I offer training on the subjects of mindfulness and self–awareness using the art of seated, standing, and walking meditation. I often bring meditation into my therapy sessions as a tool to assist clients in learning how to find an experience of stillness and connection that supports one's path of personal growth and emotional healing.
Yoga Therapy
Combining the practices of Western psychology and psychotherapy with the Eastern tradition of yoga, Yoga Therapy is a modality that allows me to assist clients who seek mind–body connection and integration. Our state of mind is inextricably linked to that of the body and the lack of awareness many people have here is often the challenge to overcome. We are incapable of being mentally at ease in the face of chronic physical tension and/or pain. Our mental well–being rests on the foundation of physical well–being. Ideally we need to ensure that our body and mind function in a balanced manner before we try to tackle larger emotional issues that need healing. Yoga Therapy consists of restoring balance using a combination of physical postures, breathing techniques, attention to diet, and meditation practices that resolve the disconnect between mind and body and the ensuing disruption of functioning. Yoga Therapy utilizes yogic principles and practices in combination with traditional psychology and counseling practices in order to assist those in accelerating a more holistic healing process.
∼Amy WeintraubThe yoga mat is a good place to turn when talk therapy and antidepressants aren't enough.