Yaw Karikari

When emotions feel intense, relationships feel strained, or behavior starts creating problems at home, school, or in daily life, it can be difficult to know where to begin.

You may be a parent feeling overwhelmed by your child’s behavior or emotional struggles. You may be a teen or young adult trying to understand big emotions, mood changes, or patterns that feel hard to control. Or you may be navigating family conflict, identity stress, or ongoing challenges that affect how you connect with the people around you.

I’m Yaw, a Licensed Independent Social Worker with over a decade of experience supporting adolescents, young adults, and families through mood disorders, personality-related challenges, behavioral issues, anxiety, depression, and life transitions. I specialize in helping individuals and families better understand what’s happening beneath the surface and develop healthier ways of relating to themselves and each other.

My goal is to create a space where people feel understood, not judged, and supported in building real, sustainable change.

I take a collaborative, structured, and culturally responsive approach to therapy.

I draw from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Solution-Focused Therapy, and motivational approaches to help clients identify patterns in thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that may be contributing to distress or conflict.

A large part of my work involves helping families and individuals improve communication, emotional regulation, and understanding. For adolescents and young adults, this may include building skills for managing emotions, reducing impulsive or reactive behaviors, and strengthening identity and coping strategies. For families, it often involves improving connection, reducing conflict, and developing clearer, more supportive dynamics.

Therapy is not just about insight—it’s about learning new ways to respond in real-life situations.

In our first session, we’ll focus on understanding what has been most challenging and what is getting in the way of things feeling more manageable.

You don’t need to have everything figured out. Many families and individuals come in feeling overwhelmed, stuck in cycles of conflict or emotional ups and downs, or unsure how to support themselves or their loved ones effectively.

Over time, clients often experience improved emotional regulation, better communication, reduced behavioral challenges, and stronger family relationships. The goal is not perfection—it’s stability, understanding, and healthier patterns over time.

If you or your family are struggling with emotional intensity, behavioral challenges, mood-related concerns, or ongoing conflict, I would be honored to support you in creating more understanding, stability, and connection.