Kristen Criado (she/her)

It’s hard for people to understand what it is like to live with a medical condition, particularly if the pain and symptoms can’t be seen by others. My experience working with patients has given me a glimpse into this experience. I support patients as they work to regain their lives to pursue their goals; Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps us to do this.

Children can experience anxiety in a way that is different from teens or adults; it can look like defiance or shyness, for example. I design treatments to help young children overcome their fears and be brave. Parenting a child with anxiety, problem behavior, or a medical condition brings its own set of obstacles. I help parents learn the tried and true parenting techniques, how to be consistent with implementing them, and how to kind to themselves as they practice these skills.

Teen years are a complex time with so many changes, as they are gaining independence but still reliant on their families in some ways. I work with teens to understand and cope with their emotions, improve relationships with friends and families, and feel true to themselves.

I help you better understand your thoughts, behaviors, and feelings and how these things interact with each other. When you change how you engage in a behavior, for example, you can think or feel differently.

Anxiety tells us to avoid situations but exposure to those things we fear helps us be brave and overcome those feelings. I help design a hierarchy or ladder of these fears so we ca start with the easiest ones to help feel empowered and successful as we then tackle the harder items on your list.

Worries and feelings of overwhelm can be suffocating and paralyzing. By changing thoughts and behaviors, you can approach the things that challenge you so that you can achieve more than you thought you could. I help you do this by taking an individualized approach while using evidence-based treatment, including Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.

You might feel like bad things can happen to people you love just because 1) you thought about it or 2) you didn’t engage in a certain behavior. We can address this through practicing believing that these thoughts and behaviors can’t cause bad things to happen. I use Exposure and Response Prevention, the most effective approach, to help you overcome these fears.

There are some things in life that we can not change. We have to learn ways to accept that these things exist and affect us, yet find a way to move forward. By choosing how we want to deal with these things, we can find a small amount of control in an uncontrollable part of our lives.