I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) licensed in Illinois and New York. I received my Masters in Social Work from New York University and have been practicing for over 10 years. My experience includes helping children and young adults struggling with their emotions and relationships to find their strengths, accomplish their goals, manage their emotions, and helping them build a support system.
Building rapport and creating a safe, supportive space is key to establishing trust and making progress. I want you to feel comfortable opening up. During our first session, we will create a non-judgmental space and we can get to know each other. You can lead the session and let me know what you feel comfortable sharing; your interests, your goals, your challenges, your favorite pizza topping. We can then discuss follow up treatment based on your comfortability.
I have over 10 years of experience helping children and adults increase their self-esteem, improve their coping skills, and enhance their communication skills. I am a relational person, so I know how important having a trusting and supportive therapeutic relationship is when being vulnerable and trying to accomplish your goals. My goal is that you feel supported, validated, and comforted in every single session.
Throughout my time working in day treatment, my clients and I focused on how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are connected. By helping my clients identify and challenge irrational or distorted thoughts, my clients have been able to replace those thoughts with more balanced and positive thoughts to modify routines, engage in problem solving skills, and use coping skills. CBT is often utilized with clients with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and phobias.
It is important that you feel safe, supported, and connected to your therapist. Therapy can be daunting and you're taking those steps to help yourself. You deserve a therapeutic relationship where you won't feel judged so that you can explore your feelings and process your experiences. You are the expert of your own life, and through active listening and reflection, we can work toward emotional healing. This approach works well for clients experiencing depression, anxiety, stress, relationship issues, and those navigating transitions in life.
While I often use play therapy with my clients who are younger, play therapy can be beneficial for anyone who has difficulty verbally expressing their emotions and experiences. Play therapy creates a safe space for you to explore your feelings through toys, art, games, or role-playing.
Everyone is good at something, and we can use your strengths, resources, and positive qualities to overcome your challenges and achieve your goals! We are going to be future-focused and solution-oriented to empower you to foster your motivation and create change! It's already in you to do it. We will identify your strengths, learn from your experiences, set achievable goals, build your social supports, increase your self-esteem and practice self-compassion.
In my 10+ years of experience, every client and their needs have been different. Eclectic allows us to pull techniques from all different therapeutic methods to meet your needs and focus on your individualized treatment.