Sometimes growing up can feel like trying to keep up with a script you were never given. Kids are learning how to navigate big feelings, friendships, school pressures, and changes they may not fully understand yet. Teens and young adults are often balancing expectations, identity, relationships, and the pressure to “have it together” while still figuring out who they are. Therapy can be a place where you don’t have to perform, mask, or pretend everything is fine. It can be a space to pause, process, and feel supported while building confidence in yourself along the way.
Hi, I’m Dori Olsen. I work with children (5+), teens, and young adults through early adulthood, and my approach to therapy is warm, positive, compassionate, and deeply supportive. I believe every person deserves a space where they feel safe enough to show up as themselves—even when things feel messy, uncertain, or uncomfortable. I often describe therapy as a brave space rather than just a safe one, because growth can sometimes feel uncomfortable. My role is to help make that space feel welcoming, collaborative, and supportive while we work through challenges together.
One thing that’s especially important to me as a therapist is meeting clients where they are. Every child, teen, and adult brings a different personality, energy, and set of experiences into the room, and I try to “match” that energy in a way that helps them feel comfortable and understood. Sometimes that means being playful and goofy, sometimes it means slowing things down and creating calm, and other times it means helping clients build practical tools to manage stress and emotions more effectively.
Clinically, I work with clients navigating executive functioning difficulties, anxiety, depression, trauma, ADHD and neurodivergence, school and life stress, behavioral struggles, and family or peer relationship challenges. I’m especially passionate about helping clients strengthen self-esteem, develop resiliency, build healthier boundaries, and learn to trust themselves more fully. I also love helping clients understand that growth doesn’t have to mean perfection—it can simply mean learning how to move through life with more confidence, self-awareness, and self-acceptance.
My therapeutic style is rooted in strength-based, client-centered care. I integrate play therapy, psychoeducation, behavioral therapies, and humanistic approaches to support clients in ways that feel engaging, practical, and individualized. With younger clients, therapy may include creativity, games, or playful interactions that help them process emotions and experiences in developmentally appropriate ways. With teens and young adults, our work may focus more on emotional regulation, communication, identity development, and building tools for navigating life transitions and stressors.
I strive to honor each client’s unique pace, journey, and goals for healing. I don’t believe there is a “right” way to grow, and I work hard to create an environment where clients feel empowered rather than judged. My hope is that therapy becomes a space where clients feel comfortable exploring both the hard parts of life and the strengths they may not even realize they already have.
Outside of therapy, I’m proudly nerdy in the best ways. I love video games (Fortnite included), musical theatre energy, baking anything sweet, and spending time golfing when I can. I also feel strongly that Trolli Sour Gummy Worms are objectively superior—and yes, the blue and pink ones are absolutely the best flavor. These small parts of who I am often help clients feel more comfortable and connected, especially kids and teens who appreciate knowing their therapist is a real person too.
My hope is that clients leave therapy feeling more empowered, more confident in handling life’s stressors, and more connected to themselves emotionally and socially. I want clients to walk away with practical tools, a new perspective, and a stronger sense that they are capable of navigating challenges—even when things feel hard.
Whether you’re looking for support for your child, your teen, or yourself as a young adult, therapy can be a meaningful place to begin building confidence, resilience, and self-trust. I’d be glad to work alongside you in that process.
