Helping children cannot help but include helping families,
too. Children are knit into the structure of their families in
the same way that families are knit into the structure of the
community. Dr. Sanders works with children in the context
of their families, often including families in the treatment
sessions. Practicing new behaviors in the home are vital to
the strengthening of both the character of the child and of the
family. Resilience, hopefulness, and possibilities for an
enriched future for the child are created and supported when
the family is supported.

Many times the stressors that families are under contribute
to the stress of children in those families; children draw upon
strengths that may appear to be behaviorally rebellious or in
other ways that seem inappropriate to parents. These behaviors,
which are unconsciously designed by children to somehow
help them to get their needs met, often times foil their efforts
and cause them to contribute to the overall stress of the home.
Dr. Sanders is skilled in assessing behaviors and aiding
parents in learning how to interpret these behaviors. Further,
she is skilled at helping children to make use of more appropriate behaviors; she also teaches parents to help their children to
modify behaviors. The final goal is to enable parents and
children in families to learn new ways of communicating and
of understanding one another. Dr. Sanders draws from Adlerian psychology, child-directed play therapy, and filial family therapy techniques.

Dr. Sanders was trained at the University of Washington in
Educational and Clinical Psychology. Specializing in children’s
mental health, she provides consultation to schools, families,
and communities. Her therapy is cognitive-behavioral, with an
emphasis on environmental design to enhance maximal positive functioning in the educational as well as family setting.

Dr. Sanders is a licensed clinical Psychologist in the States of
Maine and Washington. Her scope of practice includes general psychology, evaluations, tests, assessments, full diagnosis with
treatment recommendations, psychotherapy, and psycho-
educational consultation, as well as those services specific to
children and adolescents. Dr. Sanders has 25 years of experience
in the field of mental health provision, with 20 years of specific
services to children and families. Well-versed in severe emotional-mental-behavioral disorders of children and adolescents, Dr. Sanders provides consultation and education to families, schools, medical clinics, and other community groups.