Meet lynne

Most likely you’ve arrived on this page because you or your teen are struggling with a mental health issue.  We have just been through a pandemic, quarantine and virtual schooling with kids.  Any issue you may have had  may have been complicated by all of this change.  In addition to being a therapist, I am also the wife of a doctor who is in the trenches of Covid every day, and the mother of two teen daughters (16 and 17) who have experienced the challenges of virtual schooling and quarantine over the last year and a half. 

I specialize in helping adolescents and young adults with anxiety and depression.  I also work with teens and young adults with self esteem issues, body image issues, self harm, eating disorders, conflict with parents,  and kids who for whatever reason just find themselves unhappy.   Our practice often times sees both the parents and the teen - with two different therapists.  Parents often feel left out of the treatment completely.  Although we are bound by  HIPPA guidelines, parents can be seen by a different therapist in our practice. Parents can be guided by their own therapist to learn how to best help and communicate with their child.  

I work with anxious teens and young adults who have social anxiety, school anxiety, and kids who have struggled greatly with virtual schooling.  Some anxious teens are very worried about going back into an in person classroom again because it felt very safe hiding behind a zoom screen.

I work with kids with with depression. Sometimes my clients come to me in a shut down and detached state because their level of stress reached the point of saturation: their feelings just became too much and their brain decided to "shut-off".  If they come to me in this state, they are often acting out the pain in ways like self harm, eating disorders, using substances excessively (marijuana or alcohol), or they start acting impulsively and breaking the rules at home.

Parents of both anxious and depressed adolescents and teens are confused because the sweet connected child they once had is no longer there. Their child no longer speaks with them like they once did and/or they don’t remember the last time their child hugged them. If the child is lying repeatedly or not following the family rules, it can be hard to connect in a way that feels safe for everyone. 

I work with the parents to explore the feelings of loss and shock around this change, and I help them communicate with their child in a way that reaches the feelings underneath the defensive actions. There is a lot of conflict when parents speak only to the negative behavior.  Your child  will come back to their true self but it may take time.  I can guide you and your family through this difficult time. I can help you meet your teen exactly where they are at. I can teach you ways to  encourage your child to open up to you so that they feel safe and can once again be vulnerable.  

I will help you objectively as a therapist, and at times I will share my own experiences,  when appropriate, as a parent myself to teens in these crazy times of Covid, quarantine, virtual schooling, Tik Tok, social media and cell phones. Our kids are having a different experience than we did when we when we were their age. We have to rise to the occasion and have compassion for the generation they were born into and all that comes along with it.   

  I have experience working with public and private schools, and providers throughout Bucks County (including Doylestown, New Hope and Yardley).