Adolescence is a time of becoming.

The teenage years bring profound changes in identity, relationships, independence, belonging, and how a young person understands themselves. What looks like withdrawal, defiance, anxiety, disengagement, or risk-taking on the surface may be connected to something deeper underneath.

Therapy can offer a space for a young person to slow down, feel understood, and begin making sense of what they're experiencing—not simply to change a behavior, but to better understand themselves.

My work with adolescents began within school systems.

During my graduate training and early clinical work, I worked with young people at KIPP and in San Francisco high schools, alongside students, teachers, and parents. I also supported the mental health and educational needs of students with IEPs.

These experiences shaped how I understand adolescence: not as something that happens in isolation, but within a larger web of family, peers, school, culture, identity, and developmental change.

I think relationally and systemically.

As a Marriage and Family Therapist, I pay attention not only to what a teen is experiencing internally, but also to the relationships and environments in which they are developing. That may include family dynamics, expectations, communication patterns, school experiences, peer relationships, and the ways a young person is learning to become more independent while still needing connection.

Therapy doesn't always mean bringing the whole family into the room. It means holding the larger context while staying attuned to the individual young person.

When substance use is part of the picture

Sometimes substance use emerges alongside the developmental questions of adolescence—belonging, autonomy, identity, experimentation, emotional regulation, or the desire to feel different from the world around you.

My experience in substance use treatment allows me to approach these concerns without shame or reducing a young person to a behavior. We can take concerns seriously while staying curious about what lies beneath them and what support might make meaningful change possible.