Drionne Arney (she/her)

I have experience working with biological, foster and potential adoptive families in the outpatient and residential settings. I have worked with families to develop skills that improved their ability to communicate to resolve conflict, to improve their ability to meet their children's emotional and mental health needs, and to teach and reinforce healthy and effective relationship dynamics. Via Individual, Family, and Therapeutic Visitation sessions.

While working with children in foster care, I had the pleasure of serving on multidisciplinary teams in which I assisted with identifying and interviewing the potential adoptive parents of my clients. I implemented interventions to assist with preparing my clients for adoptive placement and all related issues with adjustment that presented. I also assessed relationship dynamics, appropriateness of placement, and provided skill teaching during therapeutic visits with potential adoptive families.

Adolescence is a time of exploration, change and discovery. I have spent most of my professional career working with at-risk youth who are struggling to manage issues related to relationships, behavioral issues, anger, substance use, anxiety, depression, identity, neglect and abuse. I work with youth and their families towards improved decision making, improved resilience, and improved overall functioning which supports their ability to successfully transition into adulthood.

The amount of time I have to work with clients is sometimes limited. The time we have is often best spent prioritizing which issues need to be addressed, identifying the options available address those issues, and putting identified action steps in practice.

Family Systems Theory suggests that a family functions as a system in which each member plays a specific tole and is expected to interact with and respond to one another in a certain way. Most of the youth I work with are seeking support with managing family dynamics and behaviors that have caused dysfunction in their family system and/or their ability to function effectively outside of the family system.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the primary intervention used in my practice. I use CBT to assist with bringing awareness to how my cleints' thoughts are influencing their behavior, with challenging unhelpful thoughts (i.e. thinking errors, cognitive distortions) and behaviors, and with developing coping skills to effectively resolve problems.

Feelings of anxiety are common and often a result of our body's natural response to stressors. However, being in a persistent state of fear, worry, nervousness and panic can significantly impact one's ability to feel safe and in control of their environment. I work with clients to identify triggers of anxiety, to develop healthy habits for effectively managing triggers, and to help with reducing anxiety's impact on their ability to live safe, healthy and empowered lives.

If there is one thing that I think we all can agree on, it would be that managing relationships can be a difficult task. The task of maintaining healthy relationships extend beyond knowing each other's love language and often takes intentional work towards developing skills for trust building, resolving conflict, managing change, and building intimacy. I work with singles and with couples to assist with addressing barriers to their ability to develop and maintain the relationships they desire.

I work with my clients to improve their ability to develop and maintain safe, healthy and supportive relationships with the people in their lives. This often includes exploring and addressing barriers to healthy relationship building, improving their engagement in effective communication behaviors, and reducing anxiety related to conflict (and conflict resolution).

Untreated anxiety can often lead to symptoms of depression. In my practice, I work with my clients to identify and challenge distressing (and often irrational) thoughts which limit their ability effectively manage challenges that significantly impact their mood.