Heather Peterson

I have 20 years of experience working with diverse children, adolescents and families. I have worked as a licensed Master's Clinical Social Worker for the past five years. I have experience working with severely emotionally impaired students and implementing Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to children exposed to violence in the home. I also worked for three years implementing Dialectical Behavioral Therapy to high-risk adolescent girls involved in the court system.

I enjoy teaching mindfulness to children and adolescents and love working with children from the ages of 5-18. I am known for my high energy, which I believe is why I enjoy working with children. I love to incorporate creativity and humor in my therapy.

I also work with adults and focus my therapy on self-acceptance as an important component in emotional health. Our inability to truly accept ourselves prevents us from achieving happiness.

True self-acceptance is accepting ALL parts of ourselves; good and bad. Self-acceptance teaches us that we should love ourselves no matter what. This means we have value even when we yell at our kids, lose our job, or act selfishly toward someone we love. Our worth is not tied to someone else's opinion of us. It is based on who we are, not what we have accomplished.