LCSW-C, 25 years of experience
Greetings, I have my Doctorate in social work and am a Licenced Clinical Social Worker from the great state of Maryland. I have been a social worker for over 25 years and have worked with a lot of different people during that time. I like to work with young adults 18-25 who are just starting out on their own and trying to figure out this whole "adulting" thing. But I enjoy working with anyone who just really is look to better themselves for whatever the reason.
In our first session we will do introductions and get to know each other a little bit. Then I will ask you "How can I help". What brings you to therapy? I don't expect you to dive right into all the personal things in our first session...that takes trust and trust takes time. But a general overview of what you want to accomplish so that we can set up some overall goals and objectives to reach for during our time together is what I am looking for.
As a social worker, I have a strength based perspective in all that I do. When I work with young adults who are just starting out in the world, I use that strength based view point when hearing their concerns about their jobs, families, friends, relationships, etc. When I work with other clients that perhaps have had a lot of trauma in their lives, I use that strength based perspective to remind them of their ability to be resilient throughout the different challenges that they have had to overcome.
I love to work with clients who are want to work on themselves. I am here to help you....but it will take work. I will work with you side by side through whatever the issues are and support you. Therapy is an awesome tool if you want to put in the time and energy. I will be your coach and cheerleader!! I love it when my clients have that moment when they have their "Aha" moment and things click for them!! The best part of my job is when I have to say goodbye to a client, because I know that they are ready to go and I have done my job and they are in a better place then there were when we first met. So how can I help you?
My clients can expect to feel supported after their sessions with me. They learn coping skills and depending on their needs and goals for therapy. They are the captain of this journey we are on together. They decide where we start, I am just here to help guide them to their ultimate goal.
Our thoughts tell us how to feel, our feelings influence how we act, and then our actions play a big role in how we see the world and future thoughts we might have. I am a firm believer that if we can reframe our thoughts then our feelings and actions can change. CBT is just one of the treatment modalities that I use with my clients.
Trauma affects everyone, especially over the past few years since the covid pandemic. The majority of my years as a social worker I have specialized in working with people who have experienced trauma in their lives. My style is to provide a safe non judgemental environment to work on whatever topic my clients feel they need to work through related to their trauma history.