Child, Teen and Adult Psychotherapy Services in San Diego
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Meet Angela Bianco, ASW

7/3/2019

 

A note from Thrive's founder, Dr. Erica Wollerman: 
Welcome to our latest blog series!  Since I am often the one writing our Thrive blogs, I wanted to make sure that our readers would be able to also get to know the amazing team I work with at Thrive. I am so grateful to work with each of these therapists and they each offer our clients something special. Since we have a team of 6, we will be sharing these blogs over the coming summer weeks! 
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Tell us about you and why you wanted to become a therapist. 
Hey there! My name is Angela and becoming a therapist was never something I thought would be my career path. I went to school in New York for acting and studied in a Shakespeare Conservatory in London. I fell in love with the process of researching the human condition, looking for the subtext, and finding ways to empathize with the hundreds of characters that would come my way through theatre, television, and movies. I studied Psychology to understand more about the human experience and how the brain works. I loved it. I loved it so much that I moved to England to train as a Drama and Movement therapist and had the opportunity to complete a Master’s program that combined two passions. I learned how to be a psychotherapist armed with creative tools and interventions to help people of all ages to reconnect with their creativity and support them in moving through trauma, grief, anxiety, depression, anger, and everything in between. I wanted to learn more about the systems of care in America and contribute to a growing body of mental health professionals who destigmatize mental health diagnosis by treating the person as a whole and not just a diagnosis. I went back to school for a Master’s in Social Work and concentrated on Families and Children. I discovered a new passion called Family Therapy, in which, I encourage my clients to bring as many family members as will fit on the couch! I guess that doesn’t answer the “why”! I learn a new “why” each and everyday. Today, I am a therapist because I will hold hope when it feels like it’s too heavy to hold on your own. 

What do you love about being a therapist? 
I love having the honor of being a witness to a family or individuals growth process and the “ah-ha!” moments. I love being able to create a safe space for my clients to unpack their obstacles, hopes, dreams, and desires and then support them in learning new tools to add to their ever growing toolbox. 

How would you describe yourself as a therapist? 
Present. Honest. Curious. Empathic. Resourceful. 

Who do you love working with in therapy? 
I truly enjoy working with a variety of clients across the lifespan. It gives me joy to spend one session in the play therapy room with a five year client who is working out conflict with dinosaurs and the next supporting a mother and teenage daughter build their relationship through intimacy exercises. I am here to sit with the adult who is processing emotional blocks that are preventing them from reaching their goals to the couple who want to save their marriage. I love all these moments. 

Do you have a particular theory or framework that guides your work as a therapist?  If so, describe it and tell us why you use that. 
One framework that I use with couples includes work by John and Julie Gottman. The approach not only supports and repairs relationships, it also strengthens existing happy couples. I enjoy walking couples through “building love maps” and witness their growth as they learn new things about their partner! 

Share one thing you are passionate about in your professional or personal life. 
I am currently working on becoming a certified Yin Yoga and Reiki practitioner. I am wildly passionate about using different healing modalities in my personal life and always looking for new ways to become energized and inspired by life!

For more information about Angela and her work, please check out her bio here! If you would like to schedule an appointment with Angela, please also feel free to call our main number and ask for her or fill out our contact form here and note that you would prefer to work with Angela! 

Reflections of One Year Anniversary as Thrive Therapy Studio

1/25/2018

 
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By: Dr. Erica Wollerman

​January 1st was a very big day for us at Thrive, and really for me in particular as the founder of Thrive Therapy Studio. You see, this is the day that we celebrated our first year anniversary of being a group therapy practice! Not only have we celebrated our first year of being a group practice, but we have also been able to expand our team of clinicians and services offered over the past year. While reflecting on the year, I feel so proud of the work we do, families we work with, and overarching values of our growing company!
 
At Thrive, we offer a different approach to psychotherapy in the sense that our clinical team focuses heavily on the relationships we develop with our clients. We all have different approaches to working with our clients, but this very relational, client-centered, and collaborative approach remains the same with any Thrive Team Member. This is one of the most important factors that has gone into choosing clinicians to join us at Thrive as I truly believe that therapy works best when we are collaborating with our clients and building a bridge with them to their goals. We believe in building people up so that they can learn to change things themselves with our support rather than a top down more clinical approach.
 
Since we have many different therapists to choose from, I feel confident in knowing that we can truly serve our community in so many different ways and that most people seeking therapy will feel that one of us will be a good fit for helping and supporting them. We offer individual therapy for children as young as 3 up through adulthood. We also are offering parent consultation services, either in conjunction with individual therapy for a child or teen or as a separate service to support parents. Special areas of interest and specialty for us as a whole includes the following: Autism, ADHD, Behavioral Issues, Parenting Issues, Anxiety, Depression, and Adjustment Issues. All of us are well versed in working with children, teens, and adults with a myriad of challenges.
 
We have even started offering all of our services in Spanish as well due to our lovely bilingual clinician, Jennifer Gonzalez, LMFT. Jennifer is wonderful in working with shame around parenting and increasing communication in parent-child relationships (check out her bio here!).
 
Dr. Maria Fowlks specializes in working with teens who are going through the pangs of adolescence and need a supportive space. Check out her bio here!
 
Angela Bianco, ASW, is skilled in working with individuals who are feeling stuck, frustrated, or bored with current parenting strategies. Check out her bio here!
 
And I, Dr. Erica Wollerman love working with individuals of any age who identify as perfectionists!  Check out my bio here!
 
As I mentioned before, I am so proud of how far Thrive has come in one year and so excited to think of how many more people we can support in the coming years!  To stay in the loop on our services offered and to receive updated information about Thrive, please feel free to sign up for our newsletter through the following link: http://eepurl.com/cvGx5n.
 
If you would like to talk with a Thrive Therapist about yourself for adult psychotherapy, your child, or teen attending therapy with one of us, please reach out to us by phone at 858-342-1304.
 


Introduction to Intentional Parenting

9/25/2017

 
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By: Angela Bianco, ASW

Take a moment to think of the last interaction you had with your child that left you feeling uneasy, stressed, or helpless. How did you first interact with your child? Did you make eye contact or use physical touch with them? Did you mostly listen or do most of the talking? What lesson did you teach? Were you obsessing over consequences? Do you feel good about how you handled it? 
 
Parents are more likely to operate from a reactive state of mind instead of working from a clear set of principles and strategies. We call this "autopilot"; where we grab our four year old who just slapped us on the back and with wide eyes and clenched teeth say "Hitting is not okay" and take him to his room for a time out to process what's just happened. Fear, punishment and drama are probably not part of your principles and strategy, so why would you want to instill this as a primary motivator to your child? The lesson here reads "Power and control are the best tools to get others to do what we want them to do.” You don't have to choose this route; in fact it's been proven ineffective. Dr. Dan Siegel discusses specific strategies to use with his No Drama Discipline approach. This approach allows you make more free flowing conscious decisions in times where reactivity is most likely. What are the benefits? You won't find yourself in power and control struggles and you will feel more confident and secure in your parenting.
 
In the scenario of the four old; here's an alternative way to respond. Ask yourself these three questions. Why did he act this way? What's the lesson? How can I best teach it? Chances are your four year old was searching for your attention. He's still navigating the art of consistently calming oneself. Your wish for him to act like a regulated adult is unfortunately a faulty expectation. The lesson you want to teach is "there are better ways to getting someone's attention than violence". Now, how can you teach this? Connect with your child by making eye contact and calming physical touch. Validate his big four year old feelings and exclaim "Wow! It's hard to wait, isn't it?" "It looks like you're angry that I'm speaking with someone on the phone right now.” Engage him and support him in building his emotional vocabulary. At this point, he's probably agreed and his body language and thoughts will become calmer. Now, discuss alternatives to slapping your back and teach your child WHAT to do; not just WHAT NOT to do.  
 
Angela Bianco offers parenting workshops at Thrive Therapy Studio based on the concepts of building in intentional parenting into your life. Check out more information about her workshops here!
 
If you would like to talk with a Thrive Therapist about yourself, your child, or teen attending therapy with one of us, please reach out to us by phone at 858-342-1304.
 
If you would like to receive updated information about Thrive Therapy, please feel free to sign up for our newsletter through the following link: http://eepurl.com/cvGx5n. 

Thrive Team's 5 Favorite Parenting Tips

9/3/2017

 
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We at Thrive thought it would be fun to share a joint blog from our team of therapists where we each share one of our favorite parenting tips. Since we all have different perspectives, this is a great way to get to know each of us as a therapist. Hope you like it and find our ideas helpful! 
 
Lindsey Brady, LMFT - How to support your child through tough feelings
 
In practice, I often work with children who experience difficulty with self-regulation, anger, and tantrum behaviors.  A big part of what I do is help parents to understand developmental levels and how to support their kids through the “tough stuff.”  Often, as parents, we expect our children to be respectful and behave appropriately and it’s easy to forget that kids often don’t understand or know how to manage their emotions.  It’s important to teach children that ALL feelings are okay, even the ones that seem socially unacceptable, like anger or jealousy, and that all feelings pass with time.   Encourage your kids to do something with their feelings if they need to.  Invite them to be still or to share, cry, or communicate.  If a child is unable to regulate and engages in inappropriate behaviors, parents can lovingly disengage and remind themselves that the behavior is not a reflection of their parenting or their child’s lack of respect, but more a lack of skill in dealing with the emotion or situation.  Stepping back in the moment and addressing it when everyone is calm enables the child to be in an emotional space to learn and allows the parent space to explain and correct in a calm and loving way.
 
Maria Fowlks, PsyD - Validate your child’s feelings
 
Validating your child’s emotions helps them feel heard and understood, and it lets them know their feelings matter. When you do this, you are sending the message you love and accept them regardless of how they think and feel. It is important to honor and validate the big and small things, because what may seem small to you is likely very big to them. It shows them you care and think their feelings are important. It teaches them that ALL feelings are valid.
 
Jennifer Gonzalez, LMFT - Provide your child with options
 
I am almost sure that you have heard “children like to have options” before.  I agree with this statement completely.  Children and adolescents like to feel like they are in control and hold power, and who doesn’t?
 
Well, I would like to offer you an extension of that.  Giorgio Nardone creator of Brief Strategic Therapy designed an intervention called “illusion of alternatives” which is exactly what it says; it gives the illusion that the person has an alternative.  This intervention is a real elegant way in which you offer the possibility of a option: The first option is very frightening and almost impossible for the person to complete and the second option is one that is less threatening and easier to put into practice.  
 
Translating this into child and adolescent terms: the first option should be one that is boring, tedious, and annoying to them.  The second option (the one that you really want them to choose) should be doable, easy and in many ways more appealing.  For example you may say: “Would you rather vacuum the entire house or take out the trash?” or for adolescents “Would you rather do the dishes and put them away or vacuum the living room.”
 
Angela Bianco, ASW -  Helping parents shift from being reactive to proactive in parenting
 
Taking time to reflect on your parenting and interactions with your child is crucial in learning to shift from being reactive to proactive in parenting. Unfortunately, because our lives are so busy, parents are more likely to operate from a reactive state of mind instead of working from a clear set of principles and strategies. Instead of just reacting, try asking yourself the following questions: Why did he act this way? What's the lesson? How can I best teach it?  Use these questions and your overarching parenting principles you want to use to guide your parenting as a guide for how to intervene and teach your child.
 
Erica Wollerman, PsyD – Knowing when to let your kid fail
 
As many of you who read the Thrive blog know, I am passionate in my belief that as parents, one of the best things we can do is to allow your child to fail at times. I believe strongly in the importance of teaching kids that failure is okay because it means you are trying new things and leaving your comfort zone. The other great thing about allowing your kids to fail is that you can then coach them through the failure. Teaching them how to fix things after mistakes, how to manage their feelings about the failure, and that it is okay to fall down only helps build grit and resiliency in all of us. As parents, this is a great gift you can give your children that will help them be more successful and resourceful in the future!  
 
We hope you enjoyed our first group blog!  There will hopefully be many more to come in the future so that we can continue sharing our many different experiences and thoughts with you!
 
If you would like to talk with a Thrive Therapist about yourself, your child, or teen attending therapy with one of us, please reach out to us by phone at 858-342-1304.
 
If you would like to receive updated information about Thrive Therapy, please feel free to sign up for our newsletter through the following link: http://eepurl.com/cvGx5n. 

Parenting with Intention Workshop at Thrive

3/19/2017

 


​Angela Bianco, ASW, shares her thoughts about what she is excited to share with parents during this workshop

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Thrive is excited to announce our first Parenting Workshop will be starting on Wednesday April 19th from 6:30-8:00. It will be a 5 week workshop where parents will learn practical strategies to parent with more intention in a small group setting. As a preview, we wanted to share Angela’s perspective and the things that she is excited to explore with parents during this exciting workshop!
 
Top three things I am excited to explore with parents during Parenting with Intention workshop series.
 
1. What kind of relationship do you have with your child? Exploring and discussing what it's like to parent your child helps to clarify what you're looking for and what areas you would like to strengthen. If you're feeling ineffective, tired, and disconnected from your child; focusing on your intentions in parenting will help you bring about the balance in your relationship. 
 
2. Parent as a coach. Using little moments each day to reframe your role as a coach to jump in and help your child through meltdowns and tantrums. What's working and what's not working? If you're feeling bored or frustrated with the power struggles; gaining a new sense of the "why" behind your parenting decisions will guide you in more intentional parenting. 
 
3. Permission to play! What does the quality time with your child look like? Discussing the intention behind the activities we choose to spend engaging in with our children will help highlight where we are setting our intentions. You will learn how to become more mindful while making an ice cream sundae together, reading a bedtime story, or looking at a tide pool. If you're feeling rushed or overwhelmed; slowing down and practicing mindfulness will help you tune into those intentions and embrace your relationship with your child. 
 
We hope you are as excited as we are to learn more and explore these areas further!  For more information about the group, please contact Angela Bianco, ASW directly at 858-952-8835 or by email at angelabianco.asw@gmail.com. Angela is supervised by Erica Wollerman, PsyD (PSY25614) and questions can also be directed to Erica and the general Thrive team at 858-342-1304!
 
If you would like to talk with a Thrive Therapist about your child or teen working with one of our teen psychotherapists, please reach out to us either via email at ewollerman.psyd@gmail.com or phone at 858-342-1304.
 
If you would like to receive updated information about Thrive Therapy, please feel free to sign up for our newsletter through the following link: http://eepurl.com/cvGx5n.
 
As always, thanks for reading and comments are always welcome!

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Call Today!  858-342-1304

Thrive Therapy Studio
5230 Carroll Canyon Rd. Ste 110
​San Diego, CA 92121
"Watch your thoughts, 
They become words. 
Watch your words, 
They become actions. 
Watch your actions, 
They become habits. 
Watch your habits, 
They become character; 

It becomes your destiny."

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Thrive Therapy Studio Therapists Offer Child, Teen, Adult, Marriage and Family Psychotherapy Counseling Services in San Diego, California.
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  • Welcome
  • About Thrive
    • Meet the Thrive Team >
      • Dr. Erica Wollerman
      • Dr. Maria Fowlks
      • Jennifer Gonzalez, LMFT
      • Ying-Ying Shiue, LPCC
      • Kim Macias, APCC
      • Dr. Andrea Seldomridge
      • Molly Llamas, AMFT
      • Abbey Stewart, AMFT
    • Appointment Information
  • Contact
  • Services
    • Group Therapy at Thrive >
      • Anxiety Group For Teens
      • Parent Support Group
      • Middle School Social-Emotional Processing Group
      • Young Adults Group (18-24)
    • Therapy for Children
    • Therapy for Teens and Young Adults
    • Therapy for Adults
    • Family Therapy
    • Parent Consultation
  • Resources
    • Information About Therapy
    • Academic Resources
    • San Diego Resources
    • Covid-19 Resources
    • Anti-Racism Resources
    • Recommended Reading
    • Resources for Specific Challenges >
      • Addiction and Recovery Information
      • ADHD
      • Anger Management
      • Anxiety
      • Autism/Developmental Disorders
      • Child Abuse and Domestic Violence
      • Depression
      • Eating Disorders/Body Image Issues
      • Personal Growth/Managing Perfectionism
      • LGBTQIA
      • Parenting
      • Relationships
      • Stress Management/Mindfulness
      • Teen Issues
  • Blog