Aliyah Jewell

Therapy with children includes Play Therapy as play is the natural language they use and the toys are their words. Children will often play out what they need help processing. For adolescent therapy, the biggest foundation would be building an environment where they feel safe, heard, and respected. I often work together with adolescents to ensure they feel apart of the process. I also love including parents when possible in the therapy process to ensure everyone is on the same page and that you're seeing progess outside of the therapy room.

I was inspired to become a therapist due to growing up in a community where "mental health isn't real". If you were struggling, you wanted attention or were dramatic. It's not dramatic to be human and have human reactions when things suck or simply didn't go the way you thought it would. What motivates me is to help people find their voice for anyone that also was silenced and doesn't want to be anymore.

I'm just like you in many ways, and us thearapists are nowhere near perfect. I don't know what I'm eating for dinner tonight either. I know it's hard to ask for help, especially if that was discouraged when you were growing up, but it's okay to admit you can't figure everything out by yourself. It's exhausting always having to be the one to save yourself. You deserve the support you give to everyone else.