20 years of experience
Hello! I'm a Licensed Masters Social Worker (LMSW) and Certified Autism Specialist (CAS) based in the great state of Michigan!! I recieved my Masters degree from Wayne State University and have been practicing for 20 years. I assist young children up to age 12, and adults 18- 90 that are struggling with ADHD, symptoms of autism, anxiety, depression, spirituality, bipolar disorder, life changes, and stress to be able to become the bst versions of themselves.
In our first session together, we'll start with brief introductions, then dive into specific challenges you're facing. This will help me create a tailored plan for us to work through in follow-up sessions.
Having worked with young children and adults through the years, I've developed a positive engaging focus with clients based of client's strengths. In the midst of stress and life, we can forget our gifts, talents and strengths. I try to make this experience as comfortable with my clients the best I can. Sometimes issues pop up that may be uncomfortable, but I am here to assist you with working through them. We will identify the root cause of your challenges and create a tailored plan that leads to measurable progress.
I love working with young children and adults who are having trouble with being overwhelmed with stress, learning concerns, and emotional/mood challenges. My clients are eager to make changes to improve themselves, but may be struggling with finding positive coping skill tools to make this goal a reality.
Every person has their own set of inner strengths to utilize in times of crisis, being overwhelmed, anxious and depressed. As a therapist, I peel back the layers of symptoms to uncover a person's strengths so they can use them to heal themselves.
In my practice with clients, I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with clients to assist them in realizing the set of negative thoughts that may be preventing them from living their best life. This means developing positive affirmations to replace the negative ones that tend to creep into thoughts on a daily basis. Journaling is a excellent activity to improve thoughts.
I am a Christian and open to talking with clients about faith, spirituality, and religious beliefs. Open to all faith denominations. If I do not know about a person's stated faith, then we share together and learn from each other.
Internal Family Systems is a treatment method I chose as my declared method of therapy at Wayne State University. When one person in the family (conventional or blended) is suffering from mental health symptoms, it may very well effect the other family members in different ways. This is when family meetings/therapy sessions may be necessary to assist the therapist with understanding the family's dynamics in the household. This helps to establish a positive therapeutic alliance for the client.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy consists of finding one's own awareness of being in the present. We discuss client's options of activities that assist them to become more present and "in the moment" as a whole person. If a person likes to draw, color, read or any other positive activity then we discuss the possibility of incorporating mindfulness activities as part of their treatment plan.