Services

These consultation services are designed to support school staff and administrators in responding to school refusal and avoidance with clarity, consistency, and a coordinated plan.

School avoidance is rarely about simple defiance or lack of motivation. More often, it reflects underlying anxiety, emotional overwhelm, skill deficits, or mismatches between a student’s needs and their environment. Without a clear framework, well-intentioned responses can unintentionally reinforce the very patterns schools are trying to reduce.

Consultation provides a structured, collaborative space to understand what is driving a student’s avoidance—and to develop practical, sustainable strategies to support re-engagement.

Drawing from evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS), and trauma-informed care, I work with school teams to:

• Identify the underlying function of school refusal (e.g., anxiety, perfectionism, social stress, academic overwhelm)

• Develop gradual, exposure-based return-to-school plans

• Reduce reinforcement of avoidance patterns while maintaining compassion and support

• Build consistency across staff responses to student distress and absenteeism

• Support emotional regulation and coping within the school setting

• Navigate complex family-school dynamics with greater clarity and alignment

Consultation may include case-specific problem-solving, staff training, and guidance on communication strategies with families. The goal is not simply short-term attendance, but long-term resilience and functional engagement.

This work recognizes a central truth: effective intervention requires alignment. When educators, clinicians, and caregivers operate from a shared understanding, students are far more likely to regain a sense of safety, competence, and willingness to return to school.

In-home therapy brings the work of healing and growth directly into your everyday environment, where challenges naturally unfold and change can take root more meaningfully. By meeting in your home, we gain a fuller understanding of the patterns, dynamics, and stressors impacting your well-being, allowing for support that is both practical and deeply personalized.

This approach is especially helpful for individuals or families navigating overwhelm, transitions, behavioral concerns, or barriers to traditional office-based care. Together, we develop strategies that fit your real life—strengthening communication, emotional regulation, and daily functioning in the spaces where it matters most. In-home therapy offers a grounded, collaborative process that meets you where you are, while helping you move toward greater stability, connection, and ease.

*Please note that In-home Therapy is currently only available in the towns of Wellesley, Needham, Newton, Watertown, and Waltham, and is only available for family therapy sessions. Sessions are unfortunately not covered by insurance.

Parent guidance sessions are designed to support you in understanding your child more clearly—and responding in ways that are both effective and sustainable.

Parenting a struggling child can feel confusing, exhausting, and at times isolating. Whether your child is dealing with anxiety, behavioral challenges, emotional dysregulation, or school avoidance, these sessions offer a space to step out of reactivity and into a more thoughtful, grounded approach.

In our work together, we focus on helping you make sense of your child’s behavior—not simply as something to correct, but as communication. We look at patterns: where things escalate, where they break down, and where there may be opportunities to respond differently.

Drawing from evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS), and trauma-informed care, I help parents:

• Respond to challenging behaviors with greater clarity and consistency

• Reduce power struggles and reactivity at home

• Build skills for co-regulation and emotional support

• Set appropriate boundaries without escalating conflict

• Understand the underlying drivers of anxiety, avoidance, or dysregulation

These sessions are collaborative and practical. We will identify what is and isn’t working, and develop strategies that align with both your values and your child’s developmental needs.

At the same time, this work recognizes something essential: supporting your child often requires supporting you. We create space to process your own stress, frustration, or self-doubt—so that you can show up with greater steadiness and confidence.

Parent guidance is not about perfect parenting. It’s about becoming more intentional, more attuned, and more effective over time.