About Joan
I am a marriage and family therapist who has counseled children, adults and families in English and Spanish for over fifteen years. I grew up in Puerto-Rico and moved to Houston in 1989, but have fond memories of the island. I have always enjoyed working with people from diverse backgrounds and feel passionate about helping children overcome a wide range of psychological issues.
Before starting my private practice, I worked for DePelchin Children's Center counseling at-risk youth. This experience motivated my desire to continue working with children and teens in my private practice. My specialties include counseling children, adolescents, and teenagers with ADD/ADHD, behavioral issues, anxiety, school trouble, learning disabilities, adjustment problems, depression, LGBT issues, grief and loss, eating disorders, self-mutilation, abuse issues and trauma.
Parent Resources
On my blog, I provide links to various topics and techniques that parents may find helpful when researching child, teen and family mental health.
I also make an effort to review academic psychiatric and psychological research studies that may be of interest to parents. I strive to present relevant research in summary form with interactive graphics that encourage interested parents to explore the studies' findings and conclusions.
Therapy Process
Feeling nurtured and supported by the therapist is critical during therapy. I create a safe space where children and families can identify events, issues and behavioral patterns they would like to change.
Children can be significantly helped by therapy if they are experiencing sadness, anger, worry or anxiety that lasts more than two weeks. They can also benefit from the therapeutic process if their grades have dropped, have experienced a loss of interest in activities that were once enjoyable, or have experienced changes in eating or sleeping habits. Expressing thoughts of suicide, developing an eating disorder or participating in violent acts are all signs that your child needs help.
I use a Collaborative Approach to therapy that helps children and families achieve lasting results by encouraging a positive dialog. Our therapeutic conversation will enable family members to engage with each other in a healthier manner. We will work together to co-create lasting solutions.
Progress & Goals
We will discuss your progress and the effectiveness of therapy at the beginning of each session in order to determine if there is any need to alter the therapeutic dialog.
My aim is to help your family achieve lasting positive results as quickly as possible. Clients should see improvement in resolving conflicts, identifying and understanding feelings, receiving and providing emotional support and developing healthy solutions to future challenges. My goal is to help your family discover the tools to create a path towards a happy and healthy future.
Joan Lipuscek Reaches
Houston TX