Tailored Mental Health Services for Young Men
Every young man’s journey looks different. From one-on-one sessions to family, group, and coaching work, we offer a full system of support designed to help young men grow stronger in every part of their lives.
Individual
The majority of our work at Aim Psych Youth is in individual 1:1 therapy and coaching. Whether its in person or virtual — at home, school or on the field — and whether you work with one of us or some of us, we treat this 1:1 relationship as sacred.
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Aim Psych Youth is a diverse collective of specialized therapists and coaches with an emphasis on working with young men (12-20 years old). We believe very much in the chemistry of the clinician-client relationship and devote significant energy to matching you with the right therapist(s).
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Meaningful therapeutic experiences depend on the powerful interpersonal relationship between the client and clinician. This is one of the many reasons that the therapeutic alliance will be an early priority in the work together. A deep and meaningful connection propels our efforts toward your goals.
We work with young men who are ready to embrace change with courage and honesty; who are prepared to take a closer look at their own reflection. In the pursuit of better answers about ourselves we cannot underestimate the power of asking better questions. We will be a proactive collaborative partner toward growing, expressing, exploring or resolving what you bring into therapy.
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A priority for us is to understand and incorporate the uniqueness of each young person’s social, familial, athletic and academic ecosystem. We explore and decipher the systems in which the client interacts. The more we are able to assess the internal and external worlds of the youth we work with, the better we are able to effect positive change.
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Between the self-stated goals of the client and the input/feedback from parent(s), we will define our goals from the very beginning. Whether it is eight weeks, eight months or a couple years, a goal of therapy is for you to successfully transition out of the therapeutic setting. We will know when the time is right. We will work together to create a meaningful conclusion of our work together.
Group
Bring it in. Group is where the magic happens. We call it Huddle. Our guys can process what’s happening in their world, what’s happening in the their therapy, what’s getting in their way, and what’s a new target for their work ahead.
Coaching
We value diverse tools for clients’ ability to achieve their goals. Sometimes those goals lie outside of conventional therapeutic discourse or model. At Aim Psych Youth, we take a wholistic approach to client service which includes opportunities for unique coaching/mentoring formats outside of the clinical framework.
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Huddle is a recurring weekly therapeutic process group with several active clients (and occasional alumni) and two facilitators. No topic is off limits, within reason. The goal is a safe, integrated and passionate conversation about well-being, personhood, health, healing and contemporary adolescent issues.
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From time to time we run a special limited series of Group (apart from the weekly recurring Huddle) that focuses on a specialized topic, tactic or modality. Mindfulness and meditation, identity, DBT, addiction education, are examples of these 4-6 session Group series.
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Aim Psych Youth has partnered with Shauna Greene, a specialized education consultant and academic coach. Shauna brings extensive experience in academic strategy (time management, organization, task orientation, deadline management, etc) and educational consultation (college prep, college essays, college application organization and execution).
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At Aim Psych Youth it’s not uncommon for us to work with a young man who may benefit from developing or refining their social discourse, peer interactions and engagement with social environment. Young men’s relational ecosystem is complex and frought with interpersonal and emotional obstacles. We provide customized coaching and mentoring for young men who would benefit from direct engagement and enhancement of those social skills, perspectives and behavioral patterns.
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The ability to regulate and self-soothe our bodies is a skill that many young men do not possess. Working with a breath work master can attune young men to their bodies, enhance their ability to self-regulate distress and anger, and access a calm and focused state. Becoming skillful at embodiment and mindfulness through breath work is way to create action and discipline around an otherwise benign behavior.
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Healing and healthy physical expression, when combined with intention, practice and patience, can work magic inside a young man. Working with our boxing pro (who is also a licensed therapist) young men can intertwine and decipher messages inside and outside of their body that seek stimulation, expression and exertion — while simultaneously focusing and refining the emotional experience. Clients leave these therapeutic boxing sessions with a renewed sense of themselves, increased autonomy over their body, and achieve harmony between their emotional state and their physical state.
Family Work
We incorporate the entire system in our work with the young male client. We will consistently seek opportunities to include members of the client’s family at various points in the treatment. We also believe that regular check-ins are vital part of our work with the whole family system.
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Early in our work with the client, we will endeavor to generate a deep understanding of the family dynamic. Engaging members of the family in the healing process is often an important part of the treatment process.
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When appropriate, we recommend and propose family therapy. Family therapy can be a powerful key to unlock withheld pain, confusion, anger, sadness or misunderstanding in order to move into a more healthy state for the system. Every family is different, therefore the therapeutic approach to each client and their families can be unique.
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It's common that a apathologized child can feel blamed and shamed for their problems and/or the problems that they may have caused in various ecosystems (social, familial, academic, etc). An important component of the family work is to de-pathologize the child to free them (whenever appropriate) from those accusations which often impede their healing. The peace-making and redemption path isn’t always the easiest process, as deep wounds may exist — but with the right application of family therapy and individual therapy, extraordinary changes and recalibrating within the family dynamic will occur.
The Aim Psych / Youth Process
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We start by connecting. This first conversation helps us understand what your son is going through and what kind of support you’re looking for. If we both agree it feels like the right fit, we move into a more detailed consultation and assessment. Together, we clarify goals and explore needs, and learn more about you or your son. We will generate a clinical conceptualization that will inform his individualized care plan
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Next, we translate your son’s clinical conceptualization into a clear proposal for your review. It outlines short-term and long-term goals that bring together your family’s priorities and our team’s recommendations. We match your son with the therapist(s) or specialist(s) best suited to his needs, personality, and pace. You will know exactly who is involved and what to expect.
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It’s go time. Your son starts meeting with his therapist(s) and the work begins. During the first few weeks or months, we consistently assess his progress, session rhythm, and therapeutic fit. We adjust, augment, and refine any part of his care to maximize his experience and look for opportunities to include family members at various points in treatment. Regular check-ins are a vital part of our work, and our goal is to make therapy something he can connect with that genuinely helps.
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As the collaborative work progresses, we monitor and integrate the internal and external changes he experiences. We help him apply new skills and insights in daily life, with our team tracking what is working and adjusting what is not. We provide thoughtful, strategic support for his ongoing growth and for your family as a whole.
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We believe therapy should have a finish line. Part of our process is to support the most effective and efficient therapeutic experience possible. Our team-based approach helps optimize the timeline so he can leave therapy and continue to grow independently. We will not rush this process, but we will evaluate it carefully in the later stages of the work together.
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