LPC, 7 years of experience
My counseling services integrate existential theory, CBT/REBT modalities, and DBT skills, with a focus on providing quality care to adults and older teens. I primarily work with concerns related to lack of meaning, trauma, anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders. While I emphasize choice and personal responsibility, I also make it a priority to validate each client’s emotional experience. I believe therapy should be about getting better, not just feeling better. To support that growth, I use active, directive, and challenging interventions designed to help clients develop the skills to ultimately help themselves.
First sessions can be tricky, as we need to balance getting to know one another with getting to work. I always start by gaining a sense of where you are emotionally and cognitively. We’ll spend time discussing what’s bothering you in the moment, and then move quickly into identifying both immediate and long-term strategies for addressing those concerns. Early on, I often introduce a dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skill to support emotional balance, and then transition into aspects of existential cognitive behavior therapy to develop the most powerful coping skill of all: learning to change the way you think about a trigger, memory, or trauma so you can adapt to whatever you are facing. The ultimate goal is not just to feel better, but to get better—by learning how to help yourself.
Arch Theory is a concept I developed years ago and serves as the foundation of my therapeutic approach, which is grounded in existential philosophy, cognitive behavioral therapy, rational emotive behavior therapy, and ancient Stoic thought. At its core, Arch Theory states: “There is nothing in life that I have to do, but whatever I decide to do is my choice.” As humans, we often get trapped in the belief that we must do this or have to do that. In reality, the only thing we truly must do is die. Accepting this truth is a fundamental part of the work I emphasize. While I listen closely to what clients are experiencing, I continually encourage them to focus on becoming the agents of change in their own lives.
When working with clients, the most important factor I look for is a good fit: do I offer what the client is truly seeking? In consultation calls, I look for people who want to be heard, but who also want to actively engage in the process of change. Real change requires effort, and more often than not, it begins from within. While what has happened to you cannot be changed, your conceptualization of those events—how you view, interpret, and respond to them—is within your control. I seek clients who need support, are ready to engage in the give-and-take of therapy, and are willing to put in the work necessary to learn, grow, and ultimately help themselves. Be advised that my counseling approach requires effort: constant practice is essential to apply what we do in therapy and to help it generalize into everyday life.
Existential therapy is grounded in philosophies that have shaped human thought for centuries. In my practice, I explore core existential themes such as death, freedom, choice, responsibility, isolation, and meaninglessness. At the heart of it, I believe we each have the freedom to define what gives our lives meaning within a universe that may feel inherently meaningless and isolating—so long as we are willing to accept responsibility for the choices we make.
I believe that the events in our lives do not directly cause our feelings or behaviors. Instead, it is our beliefs about those events that shape how we think, feel, and act. Lasting change begins when we accept responsibility for the choices we make, including those that contribute to negative patterns of behavior and emotion.
Building on the core principles of CBT, I incorporate rational emotive behavior techniques to challenge the “demand thinking” people often fall into—the musts, shoulds, and have-tos that blur the distinction between genuine needs and personal wants.
To be clear, I do not practice strict dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Instead, I incorporate DBT skills to provide clients with concrete coping strategies for emotional regulation. These skills help clients reach a more balanced state of mind, making them more open to the most essential coping skill of all: learning to change their patterns of thinking in order to better help themselves.