Treatment Specialties
Evidence-Based Care, Personalized for Your Journey
At Beautiful Journey Counseling, we understand that everyone’s story is unique to them. Whether you’re a parent seeking help for your child with “big emotions,” an adult navigating life transitions, or a couple working to strengthen your relationship, we provide personalized, evidence-based treatment that meets you where you are.
Our clinicians use a variety of therapeutic modalities and adapt their approach to fit your specific needs.
Common Challenges We Address
Anxiety
When your child experiences frequent stomach aches before school, struggles to sleep at night, or visits the school counselor multiple times a day, anxiety may be at the root of the problem. We help children and teens develop practical coping strategies, action plans for panic attacks, and tools to manage worry so they can participate fully in school and social activities.
What parents notice:
- Physical symptoms like stomach aches and headaches
- School refusal or frequent requests to stay home
- Social withdrawal or difficulty with peer relationships
- Perfectionism and fear of making mistakes
- Difficulty sleeping or nighttime worries
ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)
Many parents come to us saying “I think my child has ADHD” or sharing that a teacher has raised concerns. Whether your child has been formally diagnosed or you’re noticing symptoms like difficulty focusing, impulsivity, or challenges with emotional regulation, we can help. We work with both the child and parents to develop strategies for success at home and school.
Common presenting concerns:
- Difficulty completing homework or schoolwork
- Trouble focusing and following through on tasks
- Impulsive behavior and emotional outbursts
- Challenges with organization and time management
- Parent stress around managing daily routines
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
While we don’t have clinicians who specialize exclusively in ASD, we have successfully worked with children on the spectrum and their families. We provide supportive therapy and parent consultation, and when needed, we’ll connect you with resources for higher levels of care.
Big Emotions & Behavioral Challenges
This is one of the most common reasons families seek our help. When your child has meltdowns, struggles to get along with siblings, loses it as soon as they get home from school, or becomes increasingly escalated during conflicts—we can support you in managing those challenges. We help children learn emotional regulation skills and give parents practical strategies to support their child.
What this looks like:
- Intense emotional reactions that seem disproportionate
- Difficulty transitioning between activities
- Conflicts with siblings or family members
- Defiance or resistance to parental guidance
- Meltdowns at home even when “doing great at school”
School-Related Problems & Transitions
From elementary to middle school, starting a new school, or dealing with academic pressure—transitions are hard. We support children and teens through these challenges, addressing social anxiety, performance pressure, and adjustment difficulties.
Depression
Teen depression can look different than adult depression. We watch for withdrawal from activities they once enjoyed, changes in sleep or appetite, difficulty concentrating, and expressions of hopelessness. Our therapists create a safe space for teens to process difficult emotions and develop healthy coping mechanisms.
Anxiety & Depression
Adults often come to us already knowing they’re struggling with anxiety or depression. We help you understand your symptoms, develop coping strategies, and work toward feeling more like yourself again. Our approach is practical—you’ll leave sessions with real tools, not just someone to talk to.
Life Transitions & Career Changes
Moving, job changes, becoming an empty nester, or other major life shifts can be destabilizing. We help you navigate uncertainty, rediscover your identity, and move forward with confidence.
Relationship Issues & Communication
Whether you’re dealing with conflict in your marriage, struggling with in-laws, or navigating complex family dynamics, we provide a space to work through these challenges with practical communication strategies and evidence-based techniques.
Grief & Loss
Grief shows up in many forms and on its own timeline. We provide compassionate support as you process loss and find ways to move forward while honoring what you’ve been through.
Postpartum Depression & Anxiety
Beautiful Journey Counseling is well-known in the Bergen County area for our expertise in perinatal mental health. All of our perinatal clinicians hold the PMH-C (Perinatal Mental Health Certification), a specialized credential that demonstrates advanced training in supporting new mothers and families during this vulnerable time.
Family of Origin Issues
Growing up in a home affected by addiction, dysfunction, or trauma impacts how we show up in our adult relationships. We help you understand these patterns and create healthier ways of relating to others.
Trauma & PTSD
We work with clients who have experienced various forms of trauma, including first responders, military personnel, and survivors of difficult life events. We offer specialized trauma treatment including EMDR (see below).
Relationship Challenges & Communication
All of our couples therapists are trained in the Gottman Method, a research-based approach to couples therapy. We help partners improve communication, resolve conflicts constructively, and rebuild connection and intimacy. We invest significantly in training our couples therapists because we believe relationships deserve expert care.
Communication Problems
Difficulty expressing thoughts, feelings, or needs effectively; frequent misunderstandings or escalation into arguments.
Conflict and Trust Issues
Ongoing disputes about values, finances, parenting, or household responsibilities; infidelity or breaches of trust.
Emotional Disconnect / Intimacy Challenges
Feeling distant, disconnected, or unsupported; struggles with emotional or physical intimacy.
Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders
This includes postpartum and prenatal depression, postpartum anxiety, and generalized anxiety that begins or intensifies during pregnancy or the postpartum period. It also encompasses emotional challenges related to miscarriage, infertility, IVF, pregnancy loss, and third-party reproduction.
Adjustment and Identity Changes
Struggles with shifting roles, identity as a parent, changes in relationships, and balancing work, family, and personal needs.
Relationship Stress
Tension with a partner or family members due to parenting responsibilities, differing expectations, or lack of support.
Our Therapeutic Approaches
What it is:
Play therapy uses toys, games, art, and creative activities as the language children use to express themselves. Our clinicians are trained in play therapy techniques and use them extensively with young clients.
How it works at Beautiful Journey:
- We make therapy feel natural and fun, targeting your child’s specific interests to build rapport and engagement
- Activities might include puppet play, art projects, games, role-playing, and sensory activities like glitter jars
- Our beautiful, welcoming playroom includes a play kitchen, fuzzy chairs, and a variety of therapeutic toys
- Parents receive guidance on techniques to use at home
What makes it effective:
Children often can’t articulate their feelings in words, but through play, they show us what’s happening. A therapist might notice a child repeatedly acting out a scenario with puppets or expressing big emotions during a game—these moments become opportunities for healing and growth.
What it is:
CBT is a structured, goal-oriented approach that focuses on the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It’s one of the most researched and effective forms of therapy for anxiety, depression, and many other concerns.
How it helps:
- Identify negative thought patterns that contribute to distress
- Challenge and reframe unhelpful thinking
- Develop practical coping strategies and problem-solving skills
- Create behavioral changes that improve mood and functioning
- Learn skills you can use long after therapy ends
Our approach:
We don’t just talk about problems—we work on tangible goals. Clients often tell us they appreciate leaving sessions with actual tools and strategies, not just feeling heard (though that’s important too!). You might receive handouts, worksheets, or homework assignments to practice skills between sessions.
What it is:
DBT is an evidence-based psychotherapy that teaches individuals skills to manage intense emotions, improve relationships, and cope with distress. It was originally developed to treat borderline personality disorder but has proven effective for anyone who struggles with intense emotions, relationship difficulties, or impulsive behaviors.
How it works:
It combines mindfulness with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques to teach practical strategies for self-regulation, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.
Key skills taught:
- Mindfulness: Being present in the moment
- Distress tolerance: Getting through crises without making things worse
- Emotion regulation: Understanding and managing intense feelings
- Interpersonal effectiveness: Communicating needs and setting boundaries
Who benefits:
Teens and adults struggling with emotional dysregulation, self-harm urges, relationship conflicts, or anyone who feels overwhelmed by the intensity of their emotions.
What it is:
EMDR is a specialized therapy for trauma and PTSD. It helps the brain reprocess traumatic memories so they become less distressing and no longer interfere with daily life.
How it works:
Through guided eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation, EMDR helps your brain process difficult memories in a new way. It’s not about forgetting what happened—it’s about reducing the emotional charge so the memory no longer controls your life.
Who can benefit from EMDR:
Sometimes our clinicians will work with a client and recognize that EMDR could be beneficial. We have EMDR-trained therapists on staff, and we also refer within our practice for 10-session EMDR courses when appropriate. We work collaboratively to ensure you get the specific treatment you need.
Conditions treated:
- PTSD and trauma
- Anxiety and panic disorders
- Complicated grief
- Performance anxiety
- Disturbing memories that create ongoing distress
What it is:
The Gottman Method is a research-based approach to couples therapy developed over 40 years of studying what makes relationships succeed or fail. All of our couples therapists are trained in this method.
What makes it effective:
- Based on extensive research with thousands of couples
- Focuses on building friendship, managing conflict, and creating shared meaning
- Provides practical tools for improving communication
- Addresses the “Four Horsemen” that predict relationship failure: criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling
- Helps couples build a “Sound Relationship House”
Our investment:
The practice has invested significantly in Gottman training for our couples therapists because we believe strong relationships are foundational to family wellbeing. This specialized training sets us apart from practices where couples therapy might be offered without specific methodological training.
Mindfulness-Based Techniques
We incorporate mindfulness practices when appropriate, though we always respect client preferences. If you’ve tried mindfulness and it didn’t work for you, we’ll find other approaches that fit better.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
We have clinicians trained in IFS, a therapeutic approach that helps people understand and heal different parts of themselves. This can be particularly effective for those dealing with inner conflict or trauma.
Parent Consultation & Coaching
Sometimes parents need support and strategies just as much as their children do. We offer parent-focused sessions to help you understand your child’s behavior, develop effective responses, and feel more confident in your parenting.
Psychoeducation
Understanding what you’re experiencing is powerful. We share evidence-based research, articles, books, and resources to help you make sense of your symptoms and treatment.
What makes Beautiful Journey different:
We adapt to you.
If your child needs you in the room for the first half of the first session because they’re anxious, we make that happen. If you need someone more direct rather than warm and fuzzy (or vice versa), we match you accordingly. We’ve even moved clients between clinicians within our practice when someone needed a different therapeutic style.
We communicate with our parents thoughtfully.
Walking the line between maintaining client confidentiality and keeping parents informed is something we take seriously. Each clinician handles this differently based on the child’s age and needs, but we’re always focused on making sure parents feel included and aware of progress while respecting the therapeutic relationship.
We’re honest about our capabilities.
If we don’t have the right specialist for your needs—whether it’s a complex eating disorder, intensive ASD support, or another specialized area—we’ll tell you and help you find the right fit.
We provide tangible tools and strategies.
Clients consistently tell us they appreciate that our therapists give them real coping skills, homework assignments, action plans, and practical strategies—not just a space to vent. You’ll work toward specific goals and see measurable progress.
We collaborate across disciplines.
We work closely with pediatricians, schools, and other professionals involved in your care. Our founder’s background as a school counselor means we understand educational systems and can effectively collaborate with teachers and administrators.
When you contact us, you’ll speak with our intake coordinator, who takes time to understand what you’re looking for and matches you with a clinician based on your specific needs, personality preferences, and goals. We don’t just assign the next available therapist—we thoughtfully consider who would be the best fit for you or your family.
Most clients who contact us already know they want therapy; they’re looking for the right practice and the right therapist. That’s where we excel. From your very first call to your ongoing sessions, you’ll experience responsive communication, personalized care, and genuine investment in your healing journey.
Ready to Begin Your Beautiful Journey?
Contact us today at 551-319-2029 or book an appointment online. We offer prompt availability and look forward to supporting you.
Ready to Begin Your Beautiful Journey?
Contact us today at 551-319-2029 or book an appointment online. We offer prompt availability and look forward to supporting you.
