Claire Gavalia

I am also a Certified Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapist, EMDR Child Specialist, and I have training in play therapy, including synergetic play therapy.

I have a passion in working with children and youth (ages 4-17). My approach to therapy is integrative and prescriptive, grounded in EMDR therapy, dialectical behavior and cognitive behavior approaches (DBT and CBT), attachment-based therapy, play therapy, sand play, and expressive arts approaches.

I believe in your child’s resiliency and your family’s ability to heal from experiences you have been through and challenges you face. I want to help you understand what is driving your child’s struggles. I love to work with parents and caregivers, incorporating them into therapy and helping them to support their child to manage big feelings and behaviors. I help parents navigate through the complexities of parenting while providing compassion, respect, and positive regard in a non-judgmental manner.

I enjoy working with children who experience difficulties with anger/aggression, ADHD, anxiety, phobias, emotion regulation, and suicidal thoughts and urges. I have a special interest in working with children and teens who have experienced trauma, complex trauma (sexual and physical abuse, attachment trauma, relational trauma, and medical trauma) and dissociative disorders.