Counseling Services

Our skilled associates provide a wide range of counseling services:

INDIVIDUAL THERAPY is available for clients of all ages. Our associates have experience with children as young as two years, and see clients through all stages of life. All MCA clinicians have in common a specialization in serving adolescents. They are trained in both brief and long-term therapy and draw from many different theoretical lenses including but not limited to psychodynamic psychotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy. All counselors conduct a thorough assessment to determine the type and duration of therapy, as well as whether any adjunct services would be useful in meeting treatment goals.

FAMILY THERAPY is available as an adjunct service to compliment individual therapy AND as a service on its own. Clinical research has demonstrated that family therapy is often a critical element to successful counseling with children and adolescents. It is particularly useful when addressing issues that arise in life cycle transitions as well as when family conflict increases as children and adolescents develop greater autonomy.

GROUP THERAPY is available for children, adolescents and adults. Groups are a very powerful means of helping individuals develop more meaningful relationships. In group therapy, clients further their understanding of how they interact with others and have the opportunity to learn and practice more adaptive interpersonal skills. Clients often find group therapy to be a highly effective way to experience support while simultaneously receiving direct feedback from peers as well as the group facilitators. At Metropolitan Counseling Associates we offer two types of groups:

PSYCHOTHERAPY GROUPS are usually open-ended and focus on helping clients develop a greater awareness of their feelings, experience of others and impact on those around them. Group members benefit from two simultaneous levels of group interaction. The first level of interaction takes place as participants share pertinent issues in their lives that they experience OUTSIDE of the group. This allows participants to relate to one another and receive support. The second level of group interaction offers members the opportunity to identify and understand relationship patterns that develop WITHIN the group. As group members develop greater awareness of themselves in these relationships, that newfound self-knowledge can be extended and applied in the world outside of the therapy room.

SOCIAL SKILLS groups are generally time-limited and focus on the development of specific social skills. This type of group is ideal for children and teens who struggle with identifying, interpreting, and responding to verbal and non-verbal social cues.

ART THERAPY is available for individuals and groups. Used to accompany talk therapy, sessions are led by a licensed and highly experienced art therapist who is also a clinical social worker. Clients use their own creativity to confront inner struggles and work through interpersonal challenges and conflicts.

SAND TRAY & PLAY THERAPY are available for children and adolescents who communicate best through a combination of verbal and non-verbal means. These treatment tools are particularly useful to those who have difficulty articulating their feelings and experiences. Although sand tray therapy is most often used with children and teenagers, individuals of all ages can benefit from the opportunity to use metaphor in counseling.

PARENT GUIDANCE sessions are available on an as-needed basis and frequently supplement treatment with children or adolescents. A trained clinician helps parents navigate through various child-rearing dilemmas, leaving parents to feel more confident and effective in their role. Parents benefit from having a non-judgmental space to gain objectivity and make thoughtful and consensual parenting decisions.

NEW MOTHER GROUPS offer a small group of new moms and their babies (newborn to six months) the opportunity to meet with a skilled facilitator to share their experiences and relate thoughts and feelings about motherhood. Groups meet weekly for 8 weeks covering a range of topics that include feeding issues, sleep deprivation, developmental milestones, pediatrician referrals, working in or out of the home, childcare decisions, managing in-law relationships, marital/partner relations, and book and product recommendations. Groups form on an ongoing basis and provide an invaluable source of support and self-discovery.

PARENTING SEMINARS are scheduled throughout the year and focus on specific parenting topics. These topics include limit-setting, positive discipline, helping children navigate through difficult social dynamics, preparing for and managing an empty nest, helping children become more independent, supporting and advocating for children who learn differently, navigating through the school system, managing sibling rivalry, and many more. Upcoming parenting seminars are displayed on our “Events” page connected to this site. Parents may request a seminar to address a particular issue. Please contact our office if you are interested in scheduling a parenting seminar for your group.

Nanny/ Au-Pair Classes and Support: Our associates are trained to provide nannies. babysitters, and au-pairs with fundamentals of child development and age appropriate care-giving skills (discipline, limit setting, play, nutrition, handling aggressive behavior)   These services can be provided as a class or individually, which allows for a specific structure to meet the unique needs of your family.

School Crisis Plan Consultation: Several of our associates have been trained in working with trauma and crisis intervention. Our associates have been parts of crisis teams at The Sidwell Friends School, Edmund Burke School, The Chelsea School, Fairfax County Schools, Montgomery County Schools, NIH, Potomac Ridge Hospital, the Montgomery County Mental Health Association, as well as a member of the mental health corps deployed to the south following Hurricane Katrina. Our associates are available to assist in both the formation and implementation of school crisis plans.

ANTI-BULLYING/RELATIONAL AGGRESSION (RA) PROGRAMS address the numerous painful issues associated with social violence. All school-age children are potential victims and/or aggressors. The National Education Association cites that 15-30% of children have bullied a classmate or been bullied. They further establish that EVERY DAY, more than 160,000 students stay home from school to avoid a bullying situation. In addition, methods of bullying have become more lethal and increased violence has created a heightened awareness of and attention to the factors associated with its evolution.

RELATIONAL AGGRESSION (RA) is a covert form of bullying often identified with girls and cliques. It is characterized by the manipulation of relationships through exclusion, lies and secrets with the intent to do psychological and social harm. Unlike physical bullying, RA can be very difficult to identify and address.

Metropolitan Counseling Associates offers a three-part approach to addressing and resolving Relational Aggression.

• At School
  
  
  • We consult with administrators about harassment policies and offer guidance about appropriate responses to this serious behavior.
    
    
  • We teach school personnel to recognize bullying and RA and strategies to intervene.
    
    
  • We conduct workshops for parents so they can understand and attend to social difficulties at school, provide optimal support at home and be effective advocates in the school system.
    
    
  • We work directly with student groups to assess the social climate and empower students to create change.

• In Private Counseling Sessions we work with targets and perpetrators of bullying to help them understand the complex motivation behind their behaviors and then to develop more adaptive ways of managing aggressive feelings and impulses.
  
  
• In Group Therapy we work with children and adolescents to build leadership skills, develop confidence and become assertive in their social world.
  

All of our counseling services are available at our downtown Bethesda office.

Please call (301) 654-7770, ext. 1 to inquire about services or to schedule an appointment.