I'm a therapist licensed in Virginia, Maryland, and Florida, with a passion for helping people build confidence, healthy relationships, and overcome the impacts of anxiety, obsessive thinking, toxic and unhealthy relationships, and societal pressure to be 'on' all the time! It's exhausting and can leave you feeling incapable, burnt out, and dreading day to day things. I want to help you better understand yourself, what your emotions are trying to tell you (yes, they absolutely are trying to tell you something!), and establish a sustainable, more confidence-driven life because YOU DESERVE IT!
At the end of the day, I want to help you feel heard, validated, and understood, which is something that begins on day one! Through curiosity and compassion, I want to get to know you - your goals, the challenges you're facing, and collaborate on a loose plan to help you bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be!
In complete transparency, I've been in your shoes before. I spent many years living with an eating disorder, depression, debilitating anxiety, obnoxiously toxic and abusive relationships, and felt completely lost. I felt alone in a crowded room - like no one really understood me. I've been through my own healing journey to find myself, build confidence, and build healthy relationships. These experiences, mixed with education, a healthy dose of humor, and telling-it-like-it-is help me help you! You'll have a space where you can let it all out without judgement, and we'll work together to help you accomplish your goals and feel more confident and comfortable with your authentic and true self!
Starting your day feels like a flood of absolute dread, preparing to be the version of you everyone likes - problem is: it’s not the real you. You worry constantly about all the ‘what ifs’ and for the next shoe to drop. Feeling on-edge is your speciality and it’s really getting to you. Feeling confident, light, and at peace feels like an absolute dream - but that’s what you want, isn’t it? You want to wake up and not feel your heart or mind going a mile a minute. You want to believe the good shit in life can truly stay good! What if I told you it doesn't have to be a dream? Starting your day feels like a flood of absolute dread, preparing to be the version of you everyone likes - problem is: it’s not the real you. You worry constantly about all the ‘what ifs’ and for the next shoe to drop. Feeling on-edge is your speciality and it’s really getting to you. Feeling confident, light, and at peace feels like an absolute dream - but that’s what you want, isn’t it? You want to wake up and not feel your heart or mind going a mile a minute. You want to believe the good shit in life can stay good! What if I told you it doesn't have to be a dream? Not only will you emotionally spill the beans and feel so much better, but you’re going to gain a bunch of tools to help you melt anxiety in the worst moments. Working with me, you'll feel like I understand you, challenge you, and show you how you’re already kicking ass at life! We’re going to accomplish a lot, like helping you make that dream a reality!
We'll dive into how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors impact each other and explore changes that can be made to help you accomplish your goals and find relief!
A lot of emotions can be super uncomfortable - I imagine that's at least partially why you're here! So we'll explore what your emotions are trying to tell you (they often can serve as a guide) and work with them, while also building more effective coping skills, emotion regulation skills, and distress tolerance. Basically, we'll help you build an understanding and comfort with your emotions so they don't impact your day to day as much!
Ever find yourself saying "part of me feels ___, while another part of me feels ___"? That's because we can experience different parts of our emotional experience at the same time. Like when you're both excited and scared during a horror movie or on a rollercoaster, various experiences can contribute to different 'parts' feeling differently about the current situation. Think your adult self v. your inner child!
I LOVE using your individual strengths and interests to guide the therapeutic process! It can help build confidence, motivation, and sustainability for the work we're doing, and ultimately help set you up for success!
The relationships we form early in our lives can shape how we perceive different experiences and relationships as we grow up. This can also impact the relationship we have with ourselves (self-doubt v. feeling competent, anxious and insecure v. assured and confident, etc.)