Hello! I treat individuals and couples. As a trained marriage and family therapist, I take a systemic view of my clients' lives, assessing the many factors that influence their experience. These include family history, interpersonal relationships, and individual development. It is normal for us to have ups and downs in our lives. Emotions can become difficult to handle; we may feel overwhelmed. Sometimes we develop thought patterns that can make us feel as though there is a battle going on inside of us. We may engage in behaviors that work against us as we strive to meet our goals--goals like having the kinds of relationships we want for ourselves. A competent therapist is someone who can, with genuine curiosity and compassion, help you get yourself back on track. My goal is to help folks rediscover and apply the essential skills they need to stay on track after therapy is over.
Your first session with me will be about you. I will have many questions about what you are hoping to accomplish in therapy. If you have been in therapy before, I will be curious about what worked and what didn't. I will want to understand your symptoms and I will want to understand how you think things will look differently when you have made the change you want to make. I will share some things about my approach and what you can expect over the next couple of sessions, depending on how clearly we have outlined your goals in this first session. If they aren't that clear on day one, that's ok. We'll continue to be curious about THAT when we meet again.
I have learned through experience that my greatest strengths as a provider are genuine curiosity and compassion. Training and skill are VERY important, and I wouldn't be here without these. But research tells us that about 80% of the positive gains made in therapy are not attributable to the therapeutic techniques the therapist uses, but rather to the quality of the therapeutic relationship! I truly consider it an honor to be invited on my clients' unique journeys of personal discovery and growth. I accept these invitations with the sincere intention of meeting where they are and of paying careful attention to what matters most to them.
I find a person-centered approach really provides a great foundation for establishing a healthy therapeutic relationship.
CBT is a popular approach to therapy because it is very useful for many problems that lead people to therapy. I do not use CBT as a stand-alone modality, however.
I gained a great deal of exposure to IFS during my training, and I almost always introduce it in therapy, even if just to create a shared language about my clients' internal lives! IFS is very helpful in working with trauma.
I believe that it is appropriate to create space for conversation about spirituality in therapy when this is something the client wishes to do. I am able to integrate a Christian approach to therapy if this is something that a client is seeking.
I have extensive experience in counseling couples. I use a few different modalities with couples, including Gottman, EFT, and IFS.