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Autum Yarger, LMSW
Meet Autum Yarger, LMSW
Autum is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) who helps adults, teens, children, and families. She can work with adults in individual therapy as well as children, teens, and parents in individual or family therapy. Below are descriptions of treatments for teens, children, and families. Autum is under the supervision of Lexy Howell, LMFT.
- Location: Cedar Rapids (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday), North Liberty (Thursday), Telehealth any day
- Insurance: BCBS/Wellmark and Private Pay
- Ages Treated: 5 and older
- Therapies: Individuals and Families
- Schedule: Tuesday (9AM - 5PM), Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 9AM-4PM
Challenges I Treat Through Child & Family Therapy
- Childhood abuse
- Anxiety, Panic, Stress
- Depression, Low Mood
- Family Conflict, Parenting Issues
- Suicidal Ideation, Hopelessness, Helplessness
- Lack of Coping Skills, Low Self-Esteem, Chronic Self-Doubt, Insecurity
- Feeling bad about yourself, like you let others or yourself down.
- Being nervous, worrying, doubting yourself, lacking confidence or self- esteem
- Having conflict with your children or disagreements with your partner about how to parent
- Feeling unaccepted by others, lonely
- Feeling you can’t be yourself
- Feeling emotionally worked up, overwhelmed, confused, or uncertain about how to deal with your problems.
- Social, Emotional and Behavioral challenges in children and adolescents
Teen Therapy and Counseling in Cedar Rapids and North Liberty
As a parent, it’s hard to see your child is depressed, anxious, or distressed. Even though you know your child better than anyone, sometimes it’s hard to know how to help them, and sometimes they don’t open up to you, or they push you away. You’ve probably tried many things and feel like you’ve hit a roadblock and things aren’t getting better. If you’re feeling this way, then therapy can help.
My goal is to understand you as a parent and as a person and your teen’s unique strengths and challenges. I use a strengths-based approach in my work. I help my clients use the strengths of their personality, their creativity, and their intelligence to develop more adaptive and effective ways of managing emotions, social problems, and life stresses.
For each client, I carefully evaluate who they are as a person and your relationship with them as a parent. My goal is to deeply understand you and your teen, including the past and present circumstances that have led to the current struggles. I have a variety of approaches I use and may combine them for the best treatment. Below are two of the most common approaches I use; however, I have many more strategies that I often draw from.
Sometimes, I focus more on the child, sometimes more on the parent, but often, I engage both the parent and child in therapy in some way. For some teens, they may need and want what is essentially individual therapy where there is very little parent involvement and their privacy is key to them opening up. I might bring you in for some parts of the session from time to time. When I feel your role as a parent is important, I will involve you. Whatever the situation, I’ll evaluate it thoughtfully and come up with a plan that works for both your child and you.
For some problems, I use a cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) approach. The goal of this treatment is to help your child replace negative beliefs and behaviors with more realistic and adaptive thoughts and responses. I help your child feel safe and comfortable, I help them to understand and empower them to change the negative beliefs and self-perceptions that are weighing them down. I will also teach them positive emotional regulation, social interaction, and calming skills. This approach can lead to significant improvements in depression, anxiety, self esteem, social isolation, self harm, and other mental health struggles.
Child Therapy and Counseling In Cedar Rapids and North Liberty
I also use an approach called the Circle of Security. The Circle of Security strengthens the emotional bond between you and your children. It helps you better understand and respond to your child’s emotional needs in ways that promote security, resilience, and healthy development. Knowing how to relate to your child is essential to helping them with mental health struggles. This approach can be used for any age and a parent’s involvement in therapy is necessary.
The Circle of Security will help you as a parent understand your child better, know how to respond and not respond, and build trust and connection that may be missing in your relationship with your child or teen. Parents and caregivers learn how to understand their child’s cues, what their child might be needing at the moment, and how to engage them in a ways that addresses the child’s needs. This kind of intervention can reduce challenging behaviors, strengthen the caregiver-child relationship, and help children to learn to calm their bodies, manage feelings, and handle tough moments with greater emotional regulation.
Whether your child or teen is suffering from trauma, depression, anxiety, or social issues, I’m here to help you and your child start on the path to recovery. You don’t have to do this alone. Reach out today and request a session to start working with me.