Children & Adolescents

My main specialty age group, and my lifelong joy is working with children and adolescents. I have spent many years learning as much as possible from books, trainings, parents, teachers, children and adolescents themselves; the learning never stops!

With a unique ability to empathize and join with children, we strive to understand their worldview and how they experience the relationships in their lives, so we can then use both clinical knowledge and experience to help them to communicate their feelings and needs to others. If this is not possible due to age, learning or communication differences, we try our best to interpret sometimes confusing behaviors to their caregivers, so that they may grow in their understanding and compassion toward their child.

I truly believe that all children have greatness in them!

Contact

Our Values

At Sarah Linder, LCSW, PC, we value the experiences and worldview of children and teens and respect them as individual people who deserve to be heard, understood and supported.

My Mission

Life can be hard, even for children and especially for teens. When life gets hard sometimes we turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms to get through it. My hope is a world where children learn to face life's challenges with strength, confidence and integrity, grounded in the values you have instilled in them and the values they will someday choose for themselves. From this sturdy foundation, children can learn and grow in love and positive beliefs and the challenges of adulthood can be met with self-assurance, compassion, and wisdom.

My Process

We start where your child or teen needs to start. Some need to develop the language of emotions and thoughts. Some already have that but do not know what to do with those emotions or the emotions and thoughts are running the show! We always start with a thorough evaluation to develop a treatment plan together and build a strong relationship. Without a strong therapeutic relationship, therapy will usually fail. This can look like playing games, drawing or painting, talking about their friends, pets or their day-to-day experiences, or whatever interests them.

It is my job to develop a "roadmap" or plan of action to help your child get back to living their lives without an overabundance of fear, anger, or sadness, and I take that job very seriously. Sometimes we need to pause and take a "side road" to get to our final destination, but these decisions will always be made alongside the child and parents.

Let's work together

Kids and teens typically like coming to therapy with me and I like it too! One thing most kids and teens hear me say each session is "I am happy to see you!" and IT'S TRUE! You can rest assured that I will treasure your individual child, see them for their strengths and accept them for their weaknesses without judgement.

I usually tell kids "you're the boss!" to help them take charge of their own treatment and learn to advocate for themselves.

In my experience, the earlier you start your child in therapy, the better! I want to encourage parents to invest in building a relationship with a mental health provider while they are young so that they have someone to turn to when needed. Not all childhood or teen problems need ongoing (long term) therapy. Sometimes they just need a little support and they can be on their merry way. So don't wait, get your child connected today!

Let me help your child get back to the important business of playing, having fun with friends, learning and growing!

Treatment Modalities for Children & Teens

Together we will develop a treatment plan that works for your child

Interested in knowing more? Here are the treatment modalities I use frequently for children and adolescents:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), EMDR, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Motivational Interviewing, Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD, Non-directive Play Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) skills

We also offer ADHD Evaluations and Recommendations

Contact

Individual Therapy For Adults

While I utilize various forms of treatment based on the needs of the client, my hope is for people to live full lives with a range of emotions, strong connections with others and peace within themselves. Each type of therapy is used purposefully and with intention for each client and my rationale is readily available for explanation at any time!

Therapy that is strongly grounded in the therapeutic relationship

“Evidence Based Treatment” is only as good as the relationship the therapist has built the the client. Trust, mutual respect, honesty, and healthy communication are cornerstones of a successful therapeutic relationship. Only with these facets is a truly successful outcome achieved. Luckily, I like most people! That doesn’t mean everyone will like me, but it’s not really about me, is it? My job is provide a safe, honest space, that is respectful of your experience, your needs, and the best practice for you. From there, the following treatment modalities can really do wonders!

Here are my most frequently used therapies, theories and techniques in no particular order: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), CBT with ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention), Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, “Parts Work” (mostly using Structural Dissociation Theory), Motivational Interviewing, Dialectic Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and EMDR, Neurodivergent Friendly Practice.

I would like to take a moment to honor the centuries of wisdom we have received from Eastern practices, many of which can be seen woven into the evidence based therapies we know here in the West. With that said, I believe there are ways we have of “knowing” and understanding and helping that surpass what has been studied in research, what can be read in a textbook or learned from a training and that these ways of knowing or being have immense value in the lives of the people I work with.

I look forward to getting to know, understand and help each client utilizing best practices, but also intuition and inherent wisdom.

Individual Therapy for Adults

Anxiety

Our practice has specialized in anxiety of all types. Most people do not realize that there are multiple types of anxiety and some types of anxiety need specialized interventions. Does this mean therapy is drastically different or harder, NO! Does this mean you likely won’t experience the relief you are looking for if you aren’t properly diagnosed, PROBABLY!

Anxiety disorders are treatable! Whether you are suffering from a specific phobia, panic attacks, social anxiety, perfectionism, worries about multiple different things, anticipation anxiety about the future, you name it, we can treat it!

Single and Recent Event Trauma

First, we are sorry you are here if you are dealing with a recent traumatic event. Whether you’ve been in an accident and are afraid to drive, are dealing with medical treatments that ramp up your anxiety, experienced a house robbery or fire, you name it. Lots of people experience stressful events and it is normal to go through a period of stress, startle, grief, and fear. If this fear lasts more than a few weeks or you are having trouble engaging in activities that you used to do with ease (going to the store, driving, working, eating, etc.), please DO NOT hesitate to reach out. There are brief interventions we can do to help get you back on track and the sooner we get started, the better!

EMDR Therapy

ADHD Evaluations

15.5 million adults (6%) in the US have ADHD. More than half of adults were diagnosed after they turned 18.

About 2/3 of people with ADHD have at least 1 co-existing condition (anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, tics and Tourette’s, learning disorders, sleep problems, substance abuse, etc.)

With years of experience treating anxiety, depression, trauma, and working with children and adults with a multitude of differences, challenges and experiences, you are in good hands when it comes to the diagnostic process! We pride ourselves on an extensive knowledge of co-occurring conditions that adults often present with and we can help you find the answers you’ve been looking for.

Get the thorough evaluation you deserve!