AutPlay is a play therapy model that was created by Dr. Jason Robert Grant. Children in this program may have verbal skills ranging from non-speaking to highly verbal and cognitive development regarding from significant intellectual developmental disorder to highly gifted. While originally created to help mental healthcare providers partner with Autistic individuals in developing skills to meet their goals, AutPlay can also be used with children who are otherwise neurodivergent, such as children with Intellectual Developmental Disorder. I am also familiar with presentations of Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) and am able to serve these children through this program. AutPlay focuses on Social Interactions, Emotional Regulation, and Connection.

Child sessions generally take place in-person and parent sessions can be either in-person or via telehealth. I accept children ages 2 through 15 for this program, although I may see older teens who have limited language skills or intellectual developmental disorder. Most older teens though will be better served through the Transitioning to Adulthood program described below. These families typically need to travel to my office for the child sessions.

It can be hard to feel different, and sometimes we see our gifted or high ability children feeling different or disconnected from others. Other times, they have really big questions about life and need a safe space to talk those through. At times, they need a place to develop new skills or explore their own thoughts and emotions. Depending on the child’s age, these sessions could be in person or via telehealth.

Behavioral consultation services are for families who need to solve a specific problem. These services are often short-term, usually only a couple of weeks. Generally, I will work with both the parent and the child to help create a plan to solve the problem, but depending on the age and language level of the child, I sometimes work primarily with the parent. These sessions can generally be completed via telehealth or in-person.

Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) is a model of treating childhood anxiety that was developed by Dr. Eli Lebowitz from the Yale Child Study Center. It can often feel overwhelming to anxious children to have to come to therapy and talk about things that make them anxious, and SPACE is unique in that this intervention is completed with parents, not children, although it is treating your child. By helping parents to respond in highly supportive ways to their child’s anxiety while limiting the impact the child’s anxiety has on the family, children are able to greatly reduce their level of anxiety and parents are empowered to help their children manage their anxiety.

I accept children between the ages of 4 and 17 who have primary diagnoses of anxiety for this program. Only parents attend the sessions, and all of the sessions can be completed via telehealth. This means I am able to accept families from anywhere in the state of Indiana for this program!

The treatment model I use for Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is an extension of the SPACE model that focuses on reducing anxiety about new foods and changing a child’s response to new foods by changing how the family approaches new foods with the child.

As I worked with more children, I met several families whose children’s eating patterns were having a very significant impact on their families to the extent that families could not eat out, travel, or go to community events such as birthday parties due to their child’s eating preferences. I also met children who were tired, struggling in school, irritable, and showing other behavioral concerns due to nutritional deficiencies. These are children whose level of anxiety about trying new foods has become overwhelming to them and their families. As an extension of the SPACE model described above, I am able to offer specific services for families impacted by ARFID, or highly restrictive and avoidant eating patterns.

Both ARFID and anorexia can have higher prevalence within the Autistic and neurodivergent population. While both ARFID and anorexia are associated with restrictive eating patterns, the psychological patterns behind these disorders, as well as the associated eating patterns and health risks, are very different, and as a result treatment is different. If your child has a diagnosis of anorexia, please reach out to me so that I can help connect you to services, but unfortunately, I will not be able to work with your child through this program.

I accept children between the ages of 4 and 17 who have primary diagnoses of anxiety for this program, although typically these children will be 12 and under. As these children can have significant medical complications, I will require that you sign consent for me to communicate with your child’s primary medical provider to ensure that there are no medical contraindicators to treatment and to facilitate a partnership between myself and your child’s medical team. As I am not a licensed physician, I cannot manage your child’s medical needs through this process.

Only parents attend the sessions, and all of the sessions can be completed via telehealth. This means I am able to accept families from anywhere in the state of Indiana for this program!

The Failure to Launch protocol is an extension of the SPACE model. This extension focuses specifically on older adolescents and young adults who are struggling to successfully transition to adulthood. These individuals are typically living with their parents or their parents are paying for their living expenses, they are not enrolled in school or working full-time, and they do not have a medical condition that prevents them from engaging in these activities. These individuals may be very reluctant to come to therapy, or their previous therapy may not have been effective in developing the independence skills their parents are hoping to see. While this group of individuals is often stereotyped as lazy, unmotivated, or content to take advantage of their parents, we know that this is WRONG. Young adults who are struggling to transition to adulthood often report feeling anxious, depressed, hopeless, isolated, and are deeply unhappy about their situations. Similarly, their parents report feelings of frustration and unhappiness about their relationship with their child. This model assists parents (your adolescents or young adult does not attend) in reconfiguring boundaries and identifying areas in which their child’s behavior is being accommodated. We will work together to identify new boundaries, expectations, and ways to support the young person you love so that they are able to reach the potential that they have. This leads to happier families and much more positive relationships between parents and their children.

I accept adolescents who are 16 and 17 into this program, as well as young adults. Only parents attend the sessions, and all of the sessions can be completed via telehealth. This means I am able to accept families from anywhere in the state of Indiana for this program!

These counseling services are typically requested by highly motivated older adolescents and young adults. Generally, these clients are wanting a supportive environment in which to develop the adaptive, self-advocacy skills, and social skills necessary to transition into adulthood. We combine some elements of AutPlay as well as working directly on developing adaptive skills and identifying resources for the young person. This highly individualized model of supporting young neurodivergent individuals as they transition to adulthood focuses on goals that I will develop with the young person and their parents, if parents are involved in treatment.

I accept adolescents who are in high school or high school age for this program, as well as young adults up to age 25. Generally, many to all of these sessions can be completed via telehealth. This means I am able to accept individuals from anywhere in the state of Indiana for this program!

There are times when a client’s needs may not align with the services that I am trained to provide. In these cases, I will let you know about my concerns after we meet for the first time, or as soon as I become aware of the concerns. Families and young adults who know that they likely need more care than I can provide can also reach out to me to see if I know of a referral or another treatment option for them.

I am not able to provide treatment for the following:

1. Legal Concerns- I do not provide parenting or custody assessments, nor do I provide court-ordered treatment. Additionally, if treating a child during parental separation or divorce, I require consent of BOTH parents before beginning treatment.

2. Currently high risk for suicide- If your child or loved one is currently suicidal and an active threat to themselves, please call 911 or seek other emergency services. If your child, or yourself, is struggling with suicidal thoughts but does not need emergency services, please reach out to a mental healthcare provider and let us know about your needs. Your child may benefit from services with me; however, some children benefit from a high level of care or need specific intervention to treat another mental health concern that I am not trained to provide.

3. Children with violent behavior in the home or adults with high risk of violence- These individuals often benefit from in-home service options and case management that I do not provide. While I can help parents to manage mild to some moderate aggressive behavior concerns (e.g., child who hits or bites when upset), I generally need to refer clients with a history of violent behavior to other services in order to best meet their needs.

4. Clients who need medical treatment before engaging in psychological services- This typically applies to children in the ARFID program who have significant nutritional deficiencies (and more information is provided under that tab above), but can also apply to other situations. Children make the most progress in counseling when they are able to effectively engage in services. If your child is undergoing significant medical treatment, we will discuss your current goals for your child in therapy, if therapy is currently in your child’s best interests, and if it may be more beneficial to wait until your child is more medically stable.

5. Adults older than 25- My training has been primary with children and young adults and I have experience working with toddlers through young adults transitioning to adulthood. As a result, I have limited the ages of my clients to 25 years old and younger as this aligns with my areas of clinical expertise and training.

6. Adolescents or adult with unmanaged substance use disorders- Substance use disorders present as an area of high clinical need and as a barrier to engaging in other treatment. While I see adolescents and young adults with some minor substance use concerns, if substance use is an area of primary clinical concern, I will refer these individuals to other resources that provide these treatment options.

7. Counseling or assessment concerns outside of my area of expertise- Over the past several years, I have developed several areas in which I have training to provide high quality services, and I am continuing to expand the services I can offer. Unfortunately though, there are several concerns for which I usually need to refer clients to other clinicians who have more expertise in those areas. If we determine after initial consultation that other services would better meet your needs, I will provide you with a referral. The most common counseling concerns I need to refer are current eating disorders, substance use disorders, personality disorders, history of significant trauma, and sexually maladaptive behaviors. In each of these cases, individuals need another specific type of treatment that I am not trained in. Regarding assessment, the most common reasons I refer a client are the need for neuropsychological assessment (e.g., traumatic brain injury, significant or unmanaged seizure disorder, stroke) and personality disorder assessment.