Individual and Family Therapy for Tween Girls
Your daughter doesn’t need to become less sensitive.
She needs to learn that her sensitivity is not something that’s wrong with her.
I can teach your daughter effective coping skills and bring peace to your family.
In person therapy in Chico, California and virtually throughout California
You are doing a great job, Mama. I know you are.
If you weren’t a great Mom, you wouldn’t be here at 11:30 pm, desperately searching for ways to help your daughter.
I bet you’re googling all the things - self-help books, empowering journals, and support groups for your girl.
Your IG and Tik Tok accounts know you well, showing you all the teen help stuff. But, you’re looking for a real live person in your corner, someone to support both your kid and yourself. (Your needs matter, too!)
Yep, I know you’re dedicated to helping your tween and you’re frustrated.
Frustrated that you can’t reach her.
Or, maybe she’s overly emotional and you aren’t sure how to handle it. As a child you were told to “stop crying” or completely ignored by your parents.
But, you are doing it differently with parenting.
You’re doing your best to listen. And validate. And hug. But, even though you’re trying your best, you still get triggered by her behavior.
You shut down. Or yell. Or slam your bedroom door right along side of hers.
This is really hard, Mama. And overwhelming. Your family is struggling.
But, you have hope. Hope that this will get better. That you’ll find the right support.
I’ve spent the last 14 years helping women and girls overcome and thrive in life through weekly psychotherapy.
I have been told I am good at creating a safe, shame-free place to heal and grow.
I have spent many, many hours listening to my clients, learning through courses, trainings, and books, and am getting certified in EMDR to bring my A game to my clients.
I can help your daughter learn healthy coping skills to manage her day to day stress. I can also help her reprocess trauma. And, I can help navigate the tricky and stressful family dynamics through family therapy.
You would do anything for your kid.
After all, you’re here. You’ve found me in the middle of the night.
If you’re wondering if I can help your daughter, book a free consultation.
I’m happy to talk with you, to connect, hear about your unique situation and share how I can help. And, I’ll answer any questions you have.
There’s something incredibly special about the tween years.
Your daughter is no longer a little girl, but she isn’t a teenager yet either. She’s beginning to figure out who she is, what she believes, where she fits, and how she wants to be seen by the world.
And so much is changing.
Friendships become more complicated. Social approval starts to matter more. Expectations increase. Her body is changing. She’s becoming more independent while still needing you in ways she may not always want to admit.
For some girls, this is when the quiet questions begin:
Am I good enough?
Do people like me?
What if I mess up?
What if I disappoint someone?
What do I need to do to fit in?
Why Therapy for 8-11 year olds?
Some girls become perfectionists.
Some become people-pleasers.
Some become anxious.
Some start hiding their feelings.
Some look completely fine while quietly becoming harder and harder on themselves.
This is why I love working with tweens.
They are still young enough that we can help shape the story they're beginning to tell themselves about who they are—but old enough to participate meaningfully in that process.
I don't want to wait until a girl has spent years believing she isn't enough before we help her question that belief.
I want to help her learn, now, that she can trust herself.
That her feelings are worth listening to.
That she doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful.
That she can care deeply about other people without losing herself in the process.
And that growing up doesn't have to mean becoming someone the world will approve of.
It can mean becoming more fully herself.
That’s the work I love doing with tweens.
I work with tweens because I believe your daughter should get the support she needs before she becomes the teenager who thinks something is wrong with her.
I want to meet girls before anxiety, perfectionism, people-pleasing, and self-doubt become the lens through which they see themselves.
Hi, I'm Sarah.
I’m not just a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with 15 years of experience. I’m a deeply compassionate human who has been a client myself.
I became a therapist because I know what it feels like to be hurting—and to have one person make you feel like you're going to be okay.
In college, I had a therapist who became a bright spot during some of my darkest days. She was warm, down-to-earth, and real. She greeted me with a smile and listened to me.
And she changed my life.
She showed me the kind of therapist I wanted to become: someone who could sit with another person in the hard places and help them believe that things could be different.
That's the kind of therapist I strive to be for your daughter.
I'll meet you and your daughter where you are, help you make sense of what you're experiencing, and walk alongside your daughter as she works toward something different.
You may be wondering….
How do I know if my daughter actually needs therapy?
She doesn’t have to be in crisis to benefit from therapy.
Maybe you’ve noticed she’s become more anxious, withdrawn, emotional, self-critical, or worried about what other people think. Maybe friendships seem harder. Maybe she’s putting enormous pressure on herself to get everything right.
Or maybe you simply have a feeling that something is going on beneath the surface.
You know your daughter better than anyone. If something feels different, therapy can give her a safe place to explore what’s happening before those struggles become more deeply ingrained.
What if she doesn’t think anything is wrong?
That’s okay.
Many tweens aren’t going to walk into a therapist’s office and say, “I’d like to work on my anxiety and perfectionism.”
They may say they’re fine. They may not know how to explain what they’re feeling. Or they may worry that therapy means something is wrong with them.
My job isn’t to convince her that she has a problem.
It’s to build a relationship where she feels safe enough to be herself, talk honestly, and begin making sense of what she’s experiencing. And if something big happens in the future,
she’ll already have a safe place in therapy.
What if she won’t talk to you?
You can't force a tween to open up—and I wouldn't want to.
Connection comes before deep work.
I use age-appropriate conversation, creativity, humor, and activities to help girls feel comfortable. Sometimes talking happens naturally. Sometimes it happens while doing something together.
The goal isn't to get her to tell me everything.
The goal is for her to have a place where she doesn't have to pretend she's okay.
Will you tell me everything she says in therapy?
Your daughter needs to know that therapy is a place where she can have some privacy and begin developing her own voice.
At the same time, as her parent, you deserve to know how she's doing and how you can support her.
We’ll talk about confidentiality and its limits at the beginning of therapy so everyone understands what to expect. If there is a safety concern, I will involve you.
Otherwise, I want to help create a space where your daughter can practice being honest without worrying that every word will immediately be reported back home.
What if I’m part of the problem?
First, take a breath.
The fact that you're asking this question tells me you care deeply about your daughter.
Parenting a tween is complicated. You won't always say the right thing. You may have your own patterns, worries, or experiences that affect how you respond to her.
Therapy isn't about finding someone to blame.
It's about understanding what's happening and helping your daughter—and your family—develop healthier ways of communicating and connecting.
What if she thinks therapy means something is wrong with her?
This is one of the reasons I’m passionate about early support.
Therapy doesn't have to mean, “Something is wrong with you.”
It can mean:
“You deserve a place to talk.”
“Your feelings make sense.”
“You can learn how to handle hard things.”
“You don't have to figure everything out by yourself.”
I want her to leave therapy understanding herself more—not believing she needs to be fixed.
What if her struggles seem like “normal tween stuff”?
Some moodiness, friendship drama, insecurity, and emotional ups and downs are absolutely part of growing up.
But “normal” doesn't mean she has to struggle alone.
If anxiety, perfectionism, self-criticism, people-pleasing, friendship difficulties, or low confidence are interfering with her ability to enjoy her life, sleep, connect with others, or feel
good about herself, it may be worth getting support.
You don't have to wait until it becomes a crisis.
Will therapy make her more dependent on me—or on her therapist?
The goal is the opposite.
I want your daughter to develop skills and confidence that she can carry with her long after therapy ends.
We’ll work toward helping her:
understand and express her emotions
trust her own judgment
communicate what she needs
handle conflict and disappointment
develop healthy boundaries
navigate friendships
respond to mistakes with self-compassion
build a stronger sense of who she is
The goal isn't for her to need therapy forever.
It's for her to become more confident in being herself.
What if she’s actually doing really well? Am I overreacting?
Maybe she is doing well.
And that's wonderful.
Therapy isn't only for children who are struggling significantly. Sometimes it's about giving a child tools and a safe relationship before she needs them desperately.
If your daughter is thoughtful, sensitive, driven, or hard on herself, helping her develop self-trust and emotional resilience now can be incredibly valuable.
You aren't overreacting by wanting to give your daughter support.
You're paying attention.
What if I wish I could help her myself?
You probably already do.
You're her mom. You're the person who knows her best, loves her most, and has been there through so much.
But sometimes kids will tell a therapist things they're not ready to tell their parents—not because they don't trust their parents, but because talking to someone outside the family feels different.
Therapy doesn't replace you.
It gives you another person on her team.
What if I recognize myself in her?
This one can be especially hard.
Maybe you remember being the girl who worried about what everyone thought. The girl who tried to be good. The girl who didn't want to disappoint anyone. The girl who learned to keep her feelings to herself.
And now you're watching your daughter navigate some of the same things.
You may be thinking, “I don't want her to struggle the way I did.”
She doesn't have to wait until adulthood to learn that her worth isn't determined by how well she performs, how much she helps, or how much other people like her.
She can learn to trust herself now.