Julie Richardson, LCSW
Individual and Family Therapist
Sessions Offered:
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- Adult and adolescent sessions
are conducted via telemedicine.
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- Children (aged 4-11) will be seen in person.
What I Can Help With
I help children and adolescents in a relaxed, accepting atmosphere. My office is a safe place for them to explore feelings and to find solutions. Every child is different, and will need a unique treatment plan. I will get to know your child through activities that are designed to help them talk about feelings. I always keep parents involved throughout the therapy process, either at the beginning of each session to touch base, or once we are implementing new plans, during the entire session. Adolescents may have varying degrees of desire to involve their parents, but there is always a format for parents to tell me how things are going at home and for me to share in the progress of therapy.
I use a wide variety of treatment types and techniques including cognitive behavioral therapy, which has been proven as the most effective therapy. With children I use play techniques, bibliotherapy, education, reflective listening, role playing, relaxation therapy, and guided imagery. Adolescents may benefit from the same types of treatments, and they also like to just talk about their lives and get feedback.
Every day, I help children and teens with these types of challenges:
Children and Teens
ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder): These children have difficulty with focus, distractibility, spacing out, and poor behavior in school. Sadly, when ADHD is left untreated, kids tend to get in more trouble, get poor grades, and frustrate people around them. This in turn will erode their self esteem. The first step I will use in determining if a child has ADHD is an evaluation. This includes getting feedback from the school and the parents. I will also observe your child in a variety of settings. Once we have decided if ADHD is the correct diagnosis, I can then help you devise a plan to help your child be successful academically and behaviorally.
Children going through Divorce: When children go through a divorce there are many, many adjustments they must make it a time of sadness, anger, and confusion for most kids. They deserve help finding their way through this transition. I can give them coping skills to learn to manage their feelings and to help them adjust to their new lifestyle.
Learning Disabilities: I have many years experience working in schools and am familiar with IEPs, 504 Plans, and treatment teams. I can help you navigate the educational system and help you advocate for your student. If your child has behavioral problems or low self esteem, which sometimes result from difficulty with learning, I can help with that too.
Behavioral problems: When children are acting out more than is normal for their age, there may be underlying problems that are invisible to you. Two common diagnoses are Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder. Finding out what is causing kids to act out can be easy at times, and very complex; other times, depending on the situation. It is best to get professional help rather than to just hope they outgrow it, or worse, letting anger build or adding punishments that are no longer effective. Sometimes a behavioral modification plan helps, other times family therapy, the treatment will vary with each child. I can help determine why your child is acting out, and help you with state-of-the-art parenting techniques. Let me help return peace to your home.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Children who cannot tolerate any change in environment or have repetitive behaviors such as hand washing or checking may have OCD. I specialize in treating these children. Often times, children can be successfully treated for OCD without medicine. Treatment usually involves several sessions with the parents as well. After treatment, children will be able to manage symptoms and live a normal life.
child how to relax and give them hands-on skills for reducing their worries.
Academic Underachievement: Children and teenagers who underachieve may be struggling with problems of anxiety and depression that manifest as poor performance in school. Let me help you identify what your child is struggling with. Then we can help your child become motivated to be successful. . Often self esteem falls due to difficult childhood experiences, child abuse, or bullying at school. Let me help you, through cognitive behavioral therapy, to have a more friendly, realistic attitude about yourself.
Anxiety and stress: Anxiety in children can be a result of difficulty in school, social problems, or stressful family environments. Also, anxiety can be genetic, and kids just have the predisposition to worry too much. Symptoms may include worrying too much about what others think, excessive fears, difficulty sleeping alone, crying, and clingy insecure behaviors. Anxiety can be treated in therapy. I will teach your
Depression: Lack of energy, tearfulness, poor motivation, poor concentration, hopelessness, lack of interest in activities, and sleep and appetite disturbances are typical symptoms of depression. Also, children may act angry when they are depressed because they don’t know that they need to find a way to express their feelings. When depression gets really deep, children may experience suicidal thoughts or wishes. Adolescents may cut themselves, or do other injuring behaviors. I will help your child express the feelings that are troubling him/her, which will help us develop a plan to restore happiness.
Victims of child abuse. I have years of experience in helping kids who have been physically, sexually, or verbally abused. These kids may have depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder, and would have many of the symptoms noted in the descriptions for anxiety and depression, above. Children who have been traumatized deserve to be helped in a professional setting, and they can have a wonderful life once they get the care they need.
Self-Harming: In today's society, teenagers are becoming more and more likely to self-harm. This could take many forms, from drug use to cutting. Usually it is a direct result of depression that needs to be understood and treated. I will help your child or teen with depression and provide coping mechanisms to replace the self harm behaviors.
Eating Disorders: This includes anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, orthorexia or any other unusual eating problem. These conditions are very serious and should not be overlooked. I will provide the counseling and serve as an advisor in lining up other professionals we may need. We will work on body image, control issues, social fears, perfectionism and whatever personal issues your child has.
Sexual Identity Issues in Adolescence: Today’s adolescents are very open minded about sexual differences. They may surprise their parents by stating they are bisexual, gay, or lesbian as though it were a simple statement that didn’t merit much discussion. Parents wonder if the adolescent really knows this, or if its a phase, or if the adolescent is trying to provoke a reaction. It is important to handle these issues in a loving, caring manner. The adolescent may want counseling to help them deal with their feelings. My approach will be to present an accepting atmosphere, so that they can talk out their feelings, while they explore the issues.
