New to Grow
I'm a Colorado native with 20 years of experience in counseling. Our mission is to let you identify changes and then set those goals as we support you every step of the way. Do you feel broken, wounded, desperate, empty, guilty, lost? Our clients appreciate that we all share common experiences, and sometimes we need some professional care. I believe you have strengths that we can use in counseling to build up your resilience. I'm easy-going and very compassionate and caring.
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
I work with clients who may be struggling with depression or trauma related to their relationships or family. During our initial sessions, we will delve deeply into the issues at hand, and collaborate to create a plan for addressing them in a way that helps you get your life back. Most of my clients see a gradual lifting of symptoms within the first month and sustained improvement thereafter.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
What makes my practice unique is my experience with helping people change, and excellence in counseling results driven by a healthy therapeutic alliance that is unique to each person.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
I often use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in my practice. In your first session, we'll explore what brought you to therapy and then decide the most appropriate ways to help you make progress. With CBT, we'll look at how your thoughts affect your emotions and experience. During treatment, I'll help you learn how to push back against those thoughts to change your feelings for the better. To get just the right treatment goals, we'll collaborate in an intake session and begin to develop a productive therapy alliance that is effective.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
During CBT, you will learn to identify thinking patterns in your everyday life that are causing painful emotions or other problems. Then, by developing new thoughts, you will learn to change how you feel.
Christian Counseling
Christian counseling incorporates spiritual resources, Bible teachings, and faith traditions into therapy while employing established clinical techniques. Christian counselors view their clients’ difficulties through the lens of a Christian worldview rather than from a strictly naturalistic perspective. Use of spiritual interventions: Christian counselors may employ practices like prayer, Scripture reading, worship, and service alongside clinical methods like cognitive-behavioral therapy. Their goal is to facilitate spiritual growth and a deepening relationship with God. Consideration of sin and human fallenness: Through the Christian worldview lens, counselors understand negative thoughts, emotions, and behaviors as expressions of the fallen, sinful human condition. But they emphasize the transformative power of grace, redemption, and spiritual rebirth.
Biofeedback
Biofeedback in counseling is a technique that teaches individuals to control involuntary bodily processes—such as heart rate, muscle tension, and skin temperature—to manage stress, anxiety, and physical pain. Using sensors and monitoring equipment, clients receive real-time feedback (visual or audio) to learn self-regulation strategies, often complementing psychotherapy for improved mental and physical well-being.
Couples Counseling
The Gottman Method is structured around the "Sound Relationship House" theory, which aims to help partners manage conflict and deepen their connection. Assessment: The process begins with a joint session, individual interviews, and a comprehensive questionnaire (Gottman Relationship Checkup). Building Love Maps: Deepening knowledge of each other’s inner worlds, including stressors, worries, and hopes. Sharing Fondness and Admiration: Cultivating appreciation and respect to counteract negativity. Turning Toward: Responding to bids for connection rather than ignoring them. Managing Conflict: Learning to manage, rather than eliminate, conflict by accepting influence, using soft startups, and repairing after arguments. Creating Shared Meaning: Building shared goals, rituals, and values. The "Four Horsemen" of Conflict The method identifies four negative communication patterns that can destroy a relationship and provides "antidotes" for each: Criticism: Attacking a partner's character rather than a specific behavior. Contempt: Acting superior, disrespectful, or cynical (considered the most destructive). Defensiveness: Making excuses or acting like a victim to avoid accountability. Stonewalling: Withdrawing or refusing to engage in interaction. Goals and Benefits The primary goals of this therapeutic approach include: Reducing: Negative communication (e.g., screaming, defensiveness). Increasing: Intimacy, empathy, and affection. Improving: Conflict resolution skills. Strengthening: Friendship and trust.