Hello! I am a Licensed Professional Counselor with 19 years of experience. I work primarily with emerging (ages 18 - 29) and mid-life adults and have a robust private practice and college counseling background. My specialties include life transitions, relationship strain, trauma, women's issues, anxiety, panic, and substance abuse. I am excited to partner with you on an explorative journey toward positive change and growth. I recognize and appreciate that no two journeys are the same. Your counseling experience will be most successful if you are supported, empowered, challenged, and move forward at your own pace.
I aim to learn about you during your initial appointment, including your concerns and expectations. From there, a treatment plan is developed based on your goals. This plan helps us focus on the concerns that you want to address and determine if goals have been met or need to change.
I recognize the role of expectations and perspective in the change process and encourage self-compassion, patience, and open-mindedness. Moving forward is progress regardless of the pace. Success is more easily achieved with support, and I am committed to supporting my clients as they work toward meeting their therapeutic goals.
I am primarily a person-centered cognitive behavior therapist, incorporating components of mindfulness and dialectical behavior therapy. I strive to meet you where you are in your change process and take steps with you, not ahead of you. I encourage open communication and view therapy as a collaborative and explorative journey.
CBT focuses on the thought-feel-response cycle. My goal is to assist you in developing a greater awareness of how past experiences shape the meaning of and response to present-day experiences and identifying healthier and more effective coping strategies.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, is a skills-based approach that is very useful for those struggling to manage their emotions during high-stress situations. As a branch-off from CBT, it focuses on mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. Anyone can benefit from DBT!
Shame is a humiliating, distressing, and often an emotionally damaging experience. Others can shame us, and we can shame ourselves. Regardless of the treatment modality, I encourage self-compassion and strive to provide a compassionate therapeutic space.
I am a Level II Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP-II). I provide CBT-based trauma-focused care tailored to meet your needs. Your communication regarding the experience determines the treatment's depth, pace, and length and the approaches I utilize.