LCSW, 12 years of experience
Welcome, I am Virginia and it is so nice to meet you! Thank you for taking this first step in feeling better, I believe this is the hardest one because people generally don't wake up one morning and desire to include a stranger in on their personal thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and troublesome behaviors. I hope to be a helpful fellow traveler to you and I am happy to let you be in the drivers seat regarding your treatment, I have lot's of suggestions - but they each only work if you put them to use:-)
In our first session together, we'll start with brief introductions, then dive into the specific challenges you're facing while I complete your assessment. This will help guide our work together. Sessions can go however you would like my aim is to see that you experience some relief and feel heard in this session.
My greatest strengths as a provider are having worked through some of my own personal issues with things like being raised in home with alcohol/drug addiction, losing a child, making many of my own mistakes along the way and then learning that all of our suffering is common. That has morphed over the years into a desire to help others with those deep pains (not always evident) that hold us back or cause us to be too scared to make the choices we know would serve us.
Clients who benefit from my services have generally been struggling for some time. They have tried solutions but feel dissatisfied with any real change, feel overwhelmed and sometimes maybe even a bit hopeless. They often have difficulty knowing where to start to make changes that will really help. Sometimes their relationships have stopped working but still find boundary setting too difficult and scary. They are ready to try new tools as they've gotten tired of these difficulties showing up whether it be at work, home, or family life.
I became interested in CBT while in school and it is a favorite that I continue to use as it offers a lot of help in understanding the way our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are all interrelated.
I am very interested in trauma informed care and have extensive training in trauma informed care including CCTP I and II. I am also currently receiving additional training with integration therapy for psychedelics in trauma therapy in addition to somatic therapy.
Most people are looking for relief from an uncomfortable feeling when they seek treatment, solution focused brief therapy is quick and offers additional angles to help look at your struggles.