Heidi Hartung-Rispoli
Licensed Social Worker
Heidi Hartung-Rispoli
Licensed Social Worker
Specializing In
Trauma
Depression
Anxiety
Parenting Strategies
Grief and loss
Relationship Issues
About Heidi Hartung-Rispoli
Heidi is a Licensed Social Worker and Psychotherapist based in New Jersey. She is dedicated to supporting children, teens, and families through life’s most challenging moments. With a compassionate and holistic approach, Heidi specializes in trauma, grief, loss, anxiety, depression, emotional regulation, and relationship issues.
Heidi integrates traditional talk therapy with alternative healing modalities, including creative arts therapy, somatic movement, sound therapy, nature-based therapy, and Integrated Energy Therapy (IET). Her goal is to create a safe, nurturing space where clients can navigate challenges, strengthen resilience, and reconnect with themselves and others. Her work honors and embraces the inner child, fostering healing through imagination, movement, and creativity.
Heidi’s therapeutic approach draws from a range of evidence-based practices, including Narrative Therapy, Strengths-Based and Resilience Models, Play Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Empowerment Theory, Psychodynamic Techniques, CBT, and DBT.
In addition to her clinical work, Heidi is a certified AFAA Group Fitness Instructor, NASM Personal Trainer, Level III Sound Healer, and 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher, with additional certifications in Pilates, strength training, barre, and aqua fitness.
Heidi helps individuals feel seen, supported, and connected through their healing journey—mind, body, and soul.
Training & Techniques
Tap on one of the tabs below to learn more about the training and certification.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
CBT is an evidence-based approach to treating anxiety disorders, such as generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, social anxiety, panic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. It has also been demonstrated to be effective in treating depression. CBT helps children and teens analyze and reduce negative thoughts that lead to unhelpful thinking and behavior in order to promote more positive thoughts and experiences.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a way to help children and teens slow down their thinking so they can pay more attention to their thoughts and notice what they are doing. This is the opposite of rushing or balancing many tasks at once. Instead, children and adolescents learn to take their time and become intuned with their surroundings. Mindfulness can be thought of as a relaxation strategy to help a child stay calm under stress, avoid becoming upset too easily, slow dow instead of rushing, be more patient, listen and get along better with others, pay attention and be less distracted, and feel happier doing everyday activities. Being mindful is a great skills that allows children to feel less stressed and experience more joy.
Play Therapy
Play Therapy is an evidence-based approach used to help children who struggle to express themselves. It can be used to treat children and adolescents on the autism spectrum, as well as those experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, and physical or learning disabilities. Play therapy can also help children with difficulty socializing or experiencing trouble at school. Using toys and other tools, children learn to express their thoughts and emotions in a way that fosters more positive experiences.
Strengths-Based Perspective
A Strength-Based Perspective emphasizes the child’s strengths instead of focusing on what is “wrong.” The child or teen’s strengths are viewed as important skills and resources that can be utilized to help them overcome obstacles. Using this perspective, children are viewed in terms of what they can do instead of what they can’t. This is very important in helping children and adolescents overcome depression and anxiety, as they learn to manage difficulties by using their strengths and learn new skills to help them be most successful.
Motivational Interviewing
Motivational Interviewing is a therapeutic technique used to establish rapport with children and adolescents and used to encourage positive behavioral changes. The goal is to help children convince themselves they should, can, and will change. It emphasize the importance of finding internal motivation to change thoughts and behaviors to promote positive experiences. Instead of convincing children to “want to change,” they become aware of their need to make changes in their life to experience success.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
DBT is an evidence-based approach used to treat mood disorders, ADHD, PTSD, and anxiety. It has also been demonstrated to be effective in treating depression, self-harm, and suicidal ideations. DBT involves helping children and adolescents who have difficulty controlling their emotions and behavior. DBT helps children and teens learn to regulate their emotions by learning about triggers that lead to negative reactions and help them use strategies such as distress tolerance, acceptance, and mindful awareness to promote postive thoughts and experiences.
Availability
Heidi is available for in-person appointments on Mondays and Wednesdays in the afternoons and evenings.
Costs
Ready to go ahead with a 45-minute child or adolescent therapy appointment? Registration only takes a few minutes. You will then receive intake forms to sign and directions for attending the appointment.
Do you have out-of-network health insurance benefits? Many commercial and employer PPO health insurance plans do. Find out how much you can save on the cost of therapy by using your benefits.
Schedule a Free Consultation Today
Book a free consultation with us to find out more about how we can help your child strengthen their lives and find joy.
Courageous Kids Counseling is an out of network (OON) group practice. As such, fees are due at the time of service. We are happy to help you submit for reimbursement from your out of network benefits. We accept a variety of payment methods, including cash, check, debit card, and credit card, health savings accounts, and flexible health care spending accounts.
