My Approach 

 

 

Before my graduate training I worked for three years with adolescents in an inpatient psychiatric unit. While most teens will never be hospitalized, this experience exposed me to mental illness in its most acute states and effective treatments. I completed my postdoctoral residency at Kaiser Permenente with children/families where I honed my skills at diagnosing and treating depression, anxiety as well as behavior problems in kids and teens by focusing on helping the whole family.

 

Please see my CV and BIO pages.

 

My approach in therapy is to meet a person or family where they are, to resonate with them while holding my own curiosity about what is happening. In this way I do not believe in fundamentally changing people, more in aiding them to remove small barriers. I work irreverently with symptoms, such as depression and its negative inner critics and I help uncover moments of spaciousness. I especially enjoy helping to lift the power of anxiety and nagging trauma. 

 

When I work with teens and families I prefer to treat the system, helping family members to express themselves and for the system to adjust. With disruptive changes, such as sickness and death or divorce, different family members might cope and perceive what is happening in their own way. 

 

It takes courage to be honest in therapy- please contact me if you would like to discuss whether therapy could be helpful to you and your family. -Dr. Knute