Elizabeth "Libby" Robinson, LMFT SP
Marriage and Family Therapist
Sandplay Practitioner
207 536-8473
Above all, my particular interest lies in providing a confidential and nonjudgmental space to assist individuals (ages 5 and up) in getting to know, trust, and respect their true self toward lasting meaning and an increased regard for and belief in honoring their particular strengths. It can feel like a major leap of faith to embark on a new and vulnerable experience, or to trust your child with a healing practitioner, so I make it my goal to increase comfortability with the process. Although psychotherapy can be utilized to gain insight into the self at any time, it is frequently during much more painful and difficult times that people are inclined to reach out. Your child will be warmly supported in working through struggles and identifying ways to process these struggles, creating a new understanding that cultivates resilience and coping. With a goal of increased resolution of barriers currently complicating daily living, Parents/Guardians can find guidance in trusting their child’s unique strengths and improved understanding of how and what symptoms may be communicating.
The majority of my 20+ years in the mental health field has been spent working with kids, tweens, teens, young adults, and TAY (Transitional Age Youth ages 16-25 ) at difficult junctures in their lives, and frequently with issues related to school and/or interpersonal problems with Family of origin and/or friends. I am comfortable working with a wide range of challenges and personalities and tend to do well with understanding the particular needs of teens and children identified as “different”, “difficult”, “angry”, “overly sensitive”, as well as “shy”.
My specializations based on training and experience include Sandplay Therapy with children who have experienced trauma and addressing complexity associated with identity(ies). I very much enjoy working with children, teens, and adults with themes around the experience of “not fitting in”. Any identity can be wrought with rejection, loneliness, guilt, and/or shame, especially if identity was or has become a source of conflict. Many children, even well into adulthood, have a knack for keeping things from parents in an effort to prevent adults from experiencing painful or stressful feelings. With every individual, I will address the “Family” and understand the person within an environmental context, I will likely make recommendations based on what we decide will be most beneficial in addressing the presenting needs. It will not be my role to tell you what to do, rather to assist in understanding what is the best course of action or process for you, your child, and your Family.
My therapeutic approach is very much about meeting you, and/or your child, where you are now, and working together to address the clinical needs of each particular individual and unfolding life circumstances, present, recent, or past. It is important that you are comfortable and feel that I am a good fit if we are to build trust sufficient to engage in a therapeutic process. While your mental wellness is serious business, I am committed to also having fun with clients and do incorporate humor when appropriate.