Hello and Welcome! I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker based in California. I have worked with children, adolescents, adults, parents, and families in a variety of settings over the past 25 years. Currently, I am working with adults, which I find to be very satisfying, as I am always inspired by my clients desire to improve their lives. I am also passionate about supporting parents, including those whose children are neurodiverse. I utilize a variety of treatment approaches, in an effort to provide an individualized therapy experience, one which is unique to you and your needs.
During our first session we will start with introductions and then begin the assessment process together. My goal for this meeting is to learn what your goals and expectations are for our work together, and as much about you and your life as I can, so that I am in the best position to support you as we move forward.
My goal as a therapist is to create a warm and safe environment for all of my clients. I am empathetic, compassionate, caring, non-judgmental, a good listener, able to communicate effectively, and have a good sense of humor. In addition, I am flexible and strive to tailor my work with each client to meet their individual needs.
I specialize in helping adults struggling with stress, anxiety, depression, life transitions, relationship difficulties, and parenting challenges. Whether you’re looking for short-term coping skills or deeper self-exploration, I’m here to support you. In addition to my therapy practice, I am a trained parenting coach, helping parents build stronger, more connected relationships with their children.
I use strategies from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy because it has been extensively researched and is a well established approach for helping clients who are struggling with anxiety, depression, stress, and a number of other mental health conditions. It involves looking at the relationship between our thoughts, our feelings and our behaviors. Using this approach, I help clients become aware of thoughts that may be contributing to their distress and then support them in learning to replace them with more balanced thoughts. In addition, I use CBT to help clients identify any behaviors that may be contributing to their distress and then support them in developing more helpful skills, habits, and coping strategies. I use this approach in combination with other well proven therapies and have found it to be quite helpful.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a type of therapy that helps people manage their emotions, improve relationships, and build coping skills for difficult situations. I have found it to be very helpful to clients who are struggling with anxiety, depression, stress, relationship challenges, parenting challenges, life transitions, and grief. DBT provides practical skills that clients can learn in session and begin to practice in their daily lives.
Mindfulness-based therapy is about learning how to be more present in the moment, rather than getting lost in worries about the future or regrets about the past. Often, anxiety, depression, or stress can pull us into overthinking or into emotional spirals. Mindfulness helps to break that cycle by helping you learn to notice your thoughts, emotions and body sensations without judging them or trying to push them away. This process can leave you feeling more grounded, present, and able to slow down, so that your thoughts do not control you and you are more able to respond in a thoughtful way.
Therapy based on Polyvagal Thoery, helps us to understand how our nervous system responds to stress, danger, or connection. As we begin to understand this and learn techniques, such as breathwork, grounding exercises and movement, we are better able to feel safe in our body, think more clearly, and feel more connected to our loved ones.
Somatic means "body-based." When we go through difficult experiences, our bodies can hold onto that stress, even if our minds move on. This can feel like tightness in the chest, a knot in our stomach, or sense of restlessness, or any number of other physical sensations. Somatic therapy creates a safe and supportive environment, and uses breathwork, grounding exercises, gentle movement, or simply slowing down, to notice and feel what is happening inside our bodies.