LCSW, 27 years of experience
I am licensed in Illinois and Massachusetts with 26 years of professional work experience. I have experience in helping clients with anxiety, stress, troubleshooting dilemmas, parenting, school-related concerns, and how best to navigate their relationships. I also have experience working with individuals who struggle with anger management. I work with my clients to create an open and safe environment where thoughts and feelings can be shared without fear of judgment.
In the first session, the agenda is usually to discuss the following in any particular order that makes sense to you: Previous experiences with therapy, therapeutic expectations and goals, what brought you to therapy - your present concerns, and asking me any questions you have about my practice style, to determine whether we are a good fit to work together.
My greatest strengths include being a compassionate listener, considerate of your life situations, and relatability, responding with thoughtful directness. I have tunnel vision on collaborative work, focusing on embracing, rather than gaslighting, your emotions to find workable solutions.
The following is a list of traits that I have found to work well with my practice style: Someone who appreciates a direct and compassionate approach. Someone who isn't afraid to be challenged with that compassion and directness Someone who recognizes the value of time and therefore understands that the direct compassion stems from not wanting to waste each other's time Someone who loves to learn and be empowered Someone who appreciates psychoeducation because they want to learn and be empowered. Someone who understands that information being repeated and broken down stems from a need to empower. Someone who has a sense of humor and can use that humor in unpacking some of life's difficulties. Someone who works outside of therapy utilizes the information, resources, and custom-fit tools designed in treatment.
I've attended several workshops, and my compassion and natural approach to therapy gravitate towards trauma-informed practices.
Solution-focused is one of my favorite tools and regular is working within my mind when working with clients. This treatment style has a lot of useful techniques. This particular style of treatment is the most familiar to me as I have used it most of my career as it was first introduced to me during a summer project before starting my MSW program.
I have experienced several trainings and was part of a certificate program for EFT. EFT makes a lot of sense to me and it is one of my regular go-to tools whether working with couples or individuals.
I have completed workshops and graduate level classes on how to incorporate Mindfulness-Based Therapy into my practice - I utilize the concepts and ideas learned through the senses and in a natural or day to day way.
I was first introduced to this therory in school, I've read several books, it is a theory that resonates well with me and it is one of my regularly used therapeutic tools.