Because We Said So offers Relational Support for teens and their grownups. While I hold a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology, this is not a therapy practice. Relational Support is trauma informed guidance, and a supportive sounding-board to help teens reflect, grow, set goals, make decisions, find meaning or direction, or navigate relationships - all the normal but very hard work of progressing from childhood into confident and motivated young adulthood.

Many clinicians who see teens have long wait lists, as there is a real mental health crisis among teens dealing with anxiety and depression. Therapy is meant to help teens heal from emotional distress, mental illness, or past trauma.

Relational Support can be an add-on for teens in therapy, a step-down for those finishing therapy, or a resource for those who need less than therapy, but more than school resources can provide.

I also offer parenting support in individual/couple sessions, or in small groups. The work of adolescence is differentiating oneself from the family, and that can bring up so many issues and feelings for the grownups of teenagers. Parenting support with Because We Said So offers a space to center and process those issues and feelings at a stage of life where time to center one’s own experience is hard to come by.

Feel free to email me with any questions: martha@becausewesaidso.net

Individual Sessions

Office hours for individual sessions are 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, and 6:00 PM on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday and 12:45, 1:45, 2:45 and 3:45 on Wednesdays. As the practice grows, I will add morning hours.

Small Groups

Small groups will meet on Saturday afternoons.

1:00 PM: Grief Support

This is a group for teens who are dealing with loss and grief to support one another with gentle guidance from Martha. It is not a therapy group.

2:30 PM: Everyone Is So Mean
(And Other Perspectives on Friendship)

This is a group for middle school aged teens to discuss and practice boundary setting, perspective taking, conflict resolution, and other important social relationship skills.

4:00 PM: Wait, I Was a Girl's Mom
(Parenting While Your Child Is Exploring Gender Identity)

This is a group for parents whose teens are transitioning or questioning their gender identities. The group will provide a safe and supportive space for discussion and processing of all the feelings about gender that come up for us in general, or specific to our child, when our children are exploring or changing their gender identities.
This is a queer friendly, nonfascist space and hatefulness towards the LGBTQIA+ community will not be tolerated.