Educational therapists look as the space between emotions and learning. Emotions can act as obstacles to learning and educational therapists are empathically attuned to that space where learners, despite their best intentions, get stuck.

As an educational therapist I seek to be aware of my client's feelings around their struggles with learning. They often need to describe the range of experiences they've had which led them to my door, and I need to listen to their stories. I can help my clients (children, adolescents or adults) to understand the source of their frustration, anger or denial concerning their learning experiences and help them to set those interfering feelings aside to regain a sense of competence.

I always think of the Kindergarten child's first experience with school - the excitement, the anticipation of learning to read and the pure joy of finally being in school. Unfortunately for some young children with learning differences, Kindergarten is only the beginning of an ordeal to learn what seems to come easily for others and to fit in. These bewildering, sometimes humiliating struggles make the difficulty of learning even more devastating.  Years later, the memories of school still can be overwhelming.

I understand these feelings, offer a safe place to express them, and guide the learner toward a more comfortable mind-set in which to learn.