Helping kids & teens explore, clarify & expand their internal world, thoughts, emotions & relationships.

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Hi! I'm Vanessa.

Welcome! My name is Vanessa Tarbill and I’m a licensed associate counselor in Tucson, AZ who specializes in working with children and teens. I enjoy seeing the progress and growth when young people are given the opportunity and skills to address problematic patterns before they take hold and get carried into adulthood. I absolutely love and feel energized by working with teens and kids.

I have experience observing and assessing behavior, developing and implementing effective treatment plans, and monitoring progress through assessments and detailed record-keeping. I have facilitated social skills groups, worked alongside healthcare specialists and support organizations, provided case management, and offered academic support to help client and parents achieve their goals.

You’ll find my style is energetic and positive, heartfelt and highly attuned to your child’s expression of joy and pain. My goal is to build a relationship with your child or teen, and with you. The benefit of a solid therapeutic relationship is trust. Trust leads to vulnerability. Vulnerability leads to a willingness to explore what’s going wrong combined with an openness to change. Children thrive in environments and relationships that include positive regard, acceptance and validation, guidance, encouragement and support. If you think your teen or child could benefit from counseling, if counseling has been recommended, or if you are at your wits end and you aren’t sure what to do next, I’d love to meet you and see how I can help!

CREDENTIALS

LAC-08245T
Licensed Associate Counselor-T
State of Arizona

Clinical Supervisors
Shari Kirschner, LCSW
Rachel Lohrman, LPC

EDUCATION

MS – Master of Science 
Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Grand Canyon University

BA – Bachelor of Arts
Psychology
University of Arizona

Services.

I offer in-person child counseling and teen counseling at Joshua Tree Counseling. I use interventions from several evidence-based counseling models that help children and teens explore their thoughts, emotions, behaviors, relationships, beliefs and values in an enjoyable way. While your child or teen may think we’re “just playing” or “just talking,” it’s important that you, as the parent or caregiver, understand that I am being intentional about making counseling enjoyable and goal-focused. 

I offer a trauma-informed, attachment-based, relational, and progress-driven approach to counseling. I incorporate play, art, games, somatic psychology and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) into therapy. Christian-based counseling is available to families for whom this is important. 

Ways I Can Help

  • Improve emotional tolerance, expression & regulation
  • Identify and address the root causes of behavior
  • Build and practice coping skills
  • Identify and heal from traumatic experiences
  • Develop effective communication skills
  • Explore relationships (parents, friends, peers) and learn to perspective shift
  • Deconstruct negative self-talk or core beliefs like “I’m not good enough”
  • Develop a hope-filled, future-focused outlook
  • Explore and resolve barriers to healthy self-esteem
  • Process and grieve loss (death, life transition, change)
  • Grow in problem-solving skills 
  • Identify social deficits and practice social skills
  • Learn what anxiety, depression, grief, shame, anger, or trauma feel like in the body to be able to manage these experiences in the moment or seek out help

PLAY THERAPY FOR CHILDREN IN TUCSON

To work with children, it’s important to use their natural language of play. Children naturally communicate and process their experiences through play. It’s how they make sense of the world, express emotions, and work through challenges. Play therapy provides a safe, supportive environment where children can explore their feelings, develop coping strategies, and build resilience—all in a way that feels natural and engaging to them. 

Unlike traditional talk therapy, which relies on verbal communication, play therapy allows children to express themselves through toys, art, storytelling, and creative activities. These therapeutic tools help them communicate their thoughts and emotions in a way that feels comfortable and familiar. With the guidance of a trained therapist, children can process difficult experiences, gain emotional awareness, and develop healthier ways to express themselves. 

During play therapy, I observe and interact with your child, providing guidance and support as they work through emotions and challenges. Over time, patterns in play can reveal underlying issues, helping both you and your child  better understand and address emotional and behavioral struggles.

Play therapy helps children feel safe and comfortable in counseling and helps builds a strong therapeutic relationship with the therapist. A strong therapeutic relationship allows the therapist to help them “do the work of therapy” in the context of something that makes sense to them. Play therapy is used as a therapeutic tool to process and explore life events and experiences in a less threatening way than talk therapy. It involves things like games, toys, art, dress-up, sand tray storytelling, and other creative activities. It is child-centered, non-directive, nonjudgmental. Play therapy can facilitate self-exploration, change, and maturity.

TUCSON COUNSELING FOR TEENS

Counseling helps teens explore  emotions, thoughts, beliefs, relationships, social constructs, independence and identity in a safe, professional and judgement free zone. According to Erikson, a well known psychologist who studied child development, adolescents in their teens years are searching for their identity; questioning their beliefs, perspectives and relationships; and seeking greater amounts of independence. They tend to be asking themselves the question, “who am I?” They look to parents, peers, culture, social media, siblings, and sometimes their faith to answer these questions. 

As a teen wrestles with their identity and feeling comfortable in their own skin, he or she may encounter confusion, strong feelings that come out of nowhere, or low self-esteem. They may be unhappy with their body, weight, or some specific body feature. They may have anxiety, depression, or even thoughts of self-harm or suicide. He or she could begin to withdraw, clam up, and prefer to spend time alone than with others. He may have thoughts of wanting to die or self-harm.

Issues teens can struggle with:

  • Relationships 
  • Communication with parents
  • Self-esteem/self-hatred
  • Thoughts or self-harm or suicide
  • Depression, sadness
  • Social pressure & comparison
  • Perfectionism
  • Grief and loss
  • Stress, overwhelm & anxiety
  • Frustration, anger, rage
  • Lack of motivation or goals
  • Identity questions 
  • Bullying
  • Overthinking, ruminating
  • Disordered eating
  • People-pleasing
  • Obsessions/Compulsions

Teen Counseling can help:

  • Improve mood and boost confidence
  • Increase emotional capacity and develop coping strategies
  • Clarify values and identify future goals and action plans
  • Discover a healthy sense of self-identity
  • Improve communication skills 
  • Teach healthy boundaries 
  • Develop a healthy mind-body connection
  • Improve relationships with parents, siblings, and peers
  • Decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression, manage stress, overwhelm, and burnout
  • Increase self-compassion and decrease the intensity of an strong inner-critic

FEES

Private Pay $100/hr

I accept all major credit cards including HSA cards. I do not accept insurance, however superbills are provided which you can submit to your insurance as part of your out-of-network benefits and request reimbursement. 

Superbills for Out of Network Benefits

I do not accept insurance. I can provide superbills which you can submit to your insurance company for reimbursement. A superbill is an itemized statement of services that includes all the information an insurance company would need to set me up as an out-of-network provider as well as the type of service you were provided (psychotherapy), fees paid, and your diagnosis. Essentially you pay for therapy at the time of service, submit an itemized statement of fees paid, and, if you are eligible, your insurance company reimburses you after deductibles are met. A diagnosis is required to submit superbills. 

Good Faith Estimates

Under a law that passed in January 2022, called the No Surprises Act, health care providers must provide clients who don’t have insurance or who do not plan on using insurance an estimate of the bill for requested services. If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your most recent Good Faith Estimate (GFE), you can dispute the bill. At Joshua Tree Counseling, GFEs are provided through your secure client portal. For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call 1-800-985-3059.

Schedule

Tuesday 3pm-7pm 
Wednesday 12-7pm
Friday 3pm-7pm
Saturday 9am-5pm

Location

Joshua Tree Counseling

6891 N Oracle Rd #155
Tucson, AZ 85704
(520) 308-4999 office (text/call)
(520) 844-8139 fax
Client Portal
Secure Messaging

Request an Appointment

Contact.

Send Me a Message

The first step if you’re interested in counseling with me is to find a day and time that works for you for a first session. You can book an appointment completely online. I do not offer phone consultations. 

You can alsp send me an email or use the form below.