Three months before Ben and Katie Nash, LCSW, officially began their house hunt in Newtown following years in a shoebox of an apartment in New York City, December 14, 2012, happened.Newtown Family Therapy & Wellness website. The mental health professional, her business manager husband, and team of associates recently celebrated the expansion of her practice at 10 Queen Street.Learn more about the practice by visiting newtownfamilytherapy.com.

"The world came to a screeching halt," Katie Nash relates in a blog posted on her

While the events of 12/14 still give many across the community pause, many others are also burdened with their own emotional and physical burdens that can weigh on anyone's mental health. But Ms Nash and her team are ready to help individuals - especially children and young adults - navigate their way through and hopefully past the challenges they are grappling with.

established the practice in January 2015, and things are going great for us and our clients so far," Ms Nash said of her recently expanded office environment. "It allows us the freedom to give people what they need. Now we're able to provide the community with even more services like acupuncture, cupping, and massage. And we're looking to branch out even more."

"We

Ms Nash is excited at the potential her office has to help combat addiction among her clients.

"There's a lot of new research showing that acupuncture is extremely effective treating those who are battling addiction," she said.

The couple is also very sensitive to clients who have limited or costly insurance coverage for the types of services provided by Newtown Family Therapy & Wellness.

This allows us to be able to see clients as long as we need to - there's no mandated cap on the number of sessions."

"We are primarily an out-of-network practice," Ms Nash said. "I do accept HUSKY coverage, but that is the only plan I'm on. Most of our clients, however, have out-of-network coverage, so they pay our fee and get reimbursement through their insurance.

This is a significant advantage for many clients, she said, because too often clients whose insurance limits the number of sessions find they are cut off right about the time they are beginning to see significant progress.

"We don't want finances to be a barrier to treatment, so we also apply a sliding [rate] scale for clients who need it," Ms Nash. "This ensures they get the services they need."

Ms Nash believes one of the more undeserved populations in Newtown and the surrounding region are adolescents.

"I believe there is a big need for the kind of services we offer among local adolescents," she said. "A lot of times they don't get the help they need. So we need to reach out to parents to remind them about the level of holistic treatment we can offer to their children."

The practice is also available for people who have specific issues that their primary physician cannot address, because of an underlying social or emotional issue.

"We know that therapy can not only help with that, but acupuncture and massage can help as well," Ms Nash said. "And people with addictions. I have experience with that and its a topic close to my heart and all our clinicians as well."

She said couples who are going through divorce with children in the mix are often very wrapped up in the process, and it may be hard to recognize how the stresses facing those parents are trickling down to the children. In those situations, Newtown Family Therapy & Wellness can also be a beacon of hope.

Speaking of younger clients, Ms Nash said she also knows that older adolescents and teens are very hard to read - so it may be very difficult for parents and caregivers to recognize the subtle signs that their children are suffering from depression, anxiety, or other clinical issues that should be addressed.

"With an adolescent, nothing should be overlooked," she said. "It's such a difficult time in life and a lot of things they struggle with do fly under the radar. It's too often chalked up to typical adolescent behavior. But you never know, especially if a group of friends is experimenting with drugs or alcohol, who is going to develop a problem."

In those cases, ruling out a clinical issue is important.

"It's also important for parents to know that bringing a child in for therapy doesn't mean there's something broken. It shows that you love them, that you're a little bit worried, and that you realize it's easier for them to talk with an experienced clinician than a parent. A lot of referrals I get come from a pediatrician who is here in the building with me, because she is usually on the front line, sees a red flag, and refers them to me - which is a really important connection to have."

That doesn't mean a parent should only depend on a pediatric concern, Ms Nash added. "Parents can and should rely on their instincts."

Newtown Family Therapy & Wellness employs three psychotherapists including Ms Nash, an acupuncturist, and a massage therapist. The practice's acupuncturist also handles cupping therapy.

Cupping is the practice of healing whereby the skin is drawn into a glass or plastic cup, creating a vacuum over the targeted area. The vacuum can be created either by the heating and subsequent cooling of the air in the cup or via a mechanical pump.

Cups are left on the skin for five to 15 minutes and help treat pain, deep scar tissues in muscles and connective tissue, muscle knots, and swelling. In addition, cupping aids in physical recovery from exercise and is widely used by professional and amateur athletes, including Olympians.

In the future, the practice is also planning to expand its adolescent services with a coloring program.

"Coloring is a phenomenal coping tool," she said. "I find young people really open up when they're doing something while talking - especially those who are dealing with depression and anxiety."

The coloring sessions are particularly valuable because they typically happen in a safe and nonthreatening small group environment under professional supervision who can help them learn to cope with their challenges differently.

"There is a lot of evidence coming out that kids with ADHD and anxiety do better if they're doing something else at the same time," Ms Nash said.

[mappress mapid="435"]