Supporting Your Child Through Life’s Complexities
Growing up presents unique social, academic, and emotional pressures that can leave children and adolescents feeling overwhelmed, misunderstood, or withdrawn. As a parent, it can be painful to see your child struggle with anxiety, behavioral shifts, or low self-esteem. My practice provides a dedicated, non-judgmental space tailored to the developmental needs of young minds. By partnering with both the youth and their support systems, I help children and teens process difficult emotions, build healthy coping mechanisms, and rediscover their confidence.
Areas of Focus
Therapeutic Approach: Evidence-Based & Creative Modalities
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): Dr. Sanaei works collaboratively with the child or teen to identify unhelpful thought patterns ("cognitive distortions") that fuel anxiety or depression. Your child learns to challenge these thoughts and gradually face their fears through structured, manageable steps.
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT): Perfect for youth experiencing intense emotions or relational stress. Dr. Sanaei teaches foundational DBT skills across four key areas: Mindfulness (staying present), Distress Tolerance (surviving crises without making things worse), Emotion Regulation (understanding and changing unwanted feelings), and Interpersonal Effectiveness (communicating needs clearly and boundaries respectfully).
- Informed Play Therapy: Tailored for younger children who may lack the vocabulary to express complex emotions. Dr. Sanaei utilizes structured play to help children naturally process complex feelings, resolve trauma, and develop healthy emotional responses in a safe environment.
- Art Therapy: Ideal for both children and adolescents who struggle to articulate their internal experiences verbally. Dr. Sanaei incorporates creative expression to help clients explore emotional roadblocks, lower defenses, reduce stress, and gain deeper self-awareness through visual communication.
- Experiential Therapy: Dr. Sanaei uses experiential techniques to help clients safely access and process difficult emotions, recognize patterns, build self-awareness, and develop new ways of responding to challenging situations. This approach can help clients move beyond simply talking about their experiences toward genuinely understanding and working through them in a supportive therapeutic environment.
Challenges We Address Together
- Anxiety & OCD: Breaking cycles of chronic worry, phobias, panic, and perfectionism using targeted CBT strategies.
- Depression & Low Motivation: Utilizing CBT behavioural activation and cognitive restructuring to lift persistent low moods, combat isolation, and restore interest in daily activities.
- Anger Management & Emotional Outbursts: Teaching youth how to identify early physiological triggers of anger, use DBT distress tolerance skills to pause, and respond constructively rather than reactively.
- Intense Emotions & Mood Shifts: Helping teens manage overwhelming sadness, irritability, or rapid shifts in mood using DBT core skills.
- Self-Harm & Impulsive Behaviours: Providing structured DBT interventions to replace risky, impulsive, or reactive behaviours with safe, effective coping alternatives.
- School & Social Stress: Navigating peer rejection, bullying, academic burnout, and performance anxiety.
- Interpersonal Conflicts: Teaching communication skills to improve relationships with family members, peers, and teachers.
- Low Self-Esteem & Identity Struggles: Challenging harsh self-criticism and building a stable, resilient sense of self-worth during critical developmental years.