Helping Children, Adolescents, and Families Heal, Grow, and Thrive
Seeking support for your child or teen can feel overwhelming. Parents often come to therapy carrying worry, frustration, guilt, or uncertainty about how to help. You may feel like you have tried everything, yet your child continues to struggle emotionally, behaviorally, socially, or academically. My goal is to provide a compassionate, collaborative space where both children and parents feel understood, supported, and empowered.
I am Kim Vander Dussen, a licensed psychologist and Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor specializing in psychotherapy with children, adolescents, and families. I provide evidence-informed, developmentally sensitive treatment that integrates play therapy, trauma-informed care, attachment-based approaches, EMDR, and neuroscience-informed interventions.
Children often communicate their experiences through behavior, play, and relationships rather than words alone. Through therapy, children and adolescents can develop emotional awareness, strengthen self-regulation, process difficult experiences, build resilience, and improve relationships with the important people in their lives.
My approach is warm, relational, and individualized. I work closely with parents and caregivers to help them better understand their child’s emotional and developmental needs while providing practical tools and strategies that support growth both at home and at school.
Areas of specialization include:
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Trauma and adverse childhood experiences
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Anxiety and emotional regulation difficulties
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ADHD and executive functioning challenges
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Sensory processing and neurodevelopmental differences
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Behavioral concerns and parent-child conflict
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Attachment and relationship difficulties
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Depression, grief, and adjustment concerns
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Autism and neurodivergent-affirming care
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Play therapy and expressive therapies for children and adolescents
In addition to my clinical work, I am a professor, international speaker, and trainer with extensive experience in play therapy, trauma, attachment, sensory processing, and child development. I am passionate about helping children and families move beyond survival toward connection, resilience, and thriving.
Whether your child is struggling with anxiety, emotional outbursts, trauma, social challenges, school difficulties, or family stress, therapy can provide a path toward healing and growth. You do not have to navigate these challenges alone.
I welcome the opportunity to support your family.
Child, Adolescent, and Family Therapy
Child Therapy
Research estimates that one in ten children meet criteria for a mental health diagnosis. Unfortunately only about 20% of them actually receive mental health intervention. Psychotherapy has been found an effective intervention for an assortment of issues that impact children.
The decision to bring your child to treatment is an anxiety provoking one for most parents. Dr. Vander Dussen respects your courage in taking that risk and values establishing a collaborative relationship with you.
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Adolescent Therapy
Adolescence has changed. While today's youth struggle with some of the same problems that previous generations have dealt with, the complex world of social media and our struggling educational system has added additional pressure that parents and others struggle with relating to. As with every generation, adolescents are also much maligned. At times their emotional struggles are dismissed as drama of adolescents. While very few adolescents request therapy, many can benefit from the experience and come to appreciate how they grow and develop over the course of their time in treatment.
Adult Therapy
While Dr. Vander Dussen is known for her work with children, adolescents, and their families, she does on occasion agree to work with adult patients. Her expertise lies with treating trauma, anxiety, and relational issues and therefore her adult practice focuses on these concerns. Additionally she works with parents of special needs children or with those who want support around parenting and creating balance in their lives.
Autism Spectrum Disorders & Other Developmental Disorders
Attachment and Trauma Related Disorders
Children, adolescents, and their families face unique challenges when presented with a developmental disorder. Research shows that families of children with special needs rate the highest at parenting stress. In fact no measure exists to adequately measure the variance in stress levels for families with special needs children. This speaks to the needs families face in finding care that is both effective and supportive.
Dr. Vander Dussen has an extensive background working with this population. In doing so she treats the entire family as she recognizes that while special needs children are often a great source of joy and strength in the family, additional support is often needed.
In recent years much has been written about attachment and trauma related problems. If you fear your child is impacted by trauma and/or attachment related problems it can be quite difficult to determine the most effective treatment. Dr. Vander Dussen has worked her entire professional career with children and families recovering from trauma and/or attachment related difficulties. Her treatment is neurologically and systemically informed. Interventions are heavily influenced by the ongoing research and evidence base for treating these children and families.
Dr. Vander Dussen has had training in E.M.D.R., theraplay, and has completed Phase I training and certification in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics.
Anxiety in Children, Adolescents, & Adults
Rates of anxiety based disorders are at epidemic levels. Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the long lasting impacts of early difficulties in this area. It is frequently misdiagnosed as a behavioral problem, when in fact anxiety or other mood problems account much more clearly for what is going on. Dr. Vander Dussen has training in mindfulness based practices, one of the most contemporary models for treating anxiety today.
