Hi, I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, practicing in Northern California for 20+ years. I believe everyone has inner wisdom that is often difficult to access when we have dealt with trauma, fear, shaming and abuse. My goal is to help clients access the parts of themselves that they feel disconnected from or would like to develop further. I believe very strongly that healing and change are possible at any age! I like to teach skills that help with finding the strong parts of each person, that may have been suppressed or cut off, due to life circumstances.
In our first session together, we'll start with brief introductions, then dive into the specific challenges you're facing. I'm here to listen to you. I'd like to help with identifying what you want to focus on most. This will help me create a tailored plan for us to work through in follow-up sessions.
My clients have told me that they very much appreciate my ability to listen deeply, to express caring and to honor their particular experience and history. I see myself as a guide in helping you to access your deep wisdom and to identify the strengths you already have. I teach the tools that I have seen make the most difference in helping people to be the person they wish to be.
I am comfortable working with clients who are new to therapy, as well as with those who have already seen the benefits of therapy in the past and wish to do further growth. Being open to alternative ways of thinking about oneself and the world is a great benefit when engaging in therapy and I strive to be a solid guide and support person in this process. Clients who report improvements, often find that they have a new relationship with their difficult and unhelpful thoughts. They also learn that all feelings are valid and that the key to more happiness and satisfaction is in taking time to make choices regarding how to handle and respond to challenging emotions. I have also been working with the gender-diverse community in the last ten years to support LGBTQIA+ clients with gender transition, trauma related to gender or sexual orientation and help in accessing medical services for transition.
I have been practicing ACT with my clients for the last ten years to support them in moving toward living their best life. ACT uses tools of mindfulness, working with thoughts that get in our way, psychological flexibility, accepting what is, defining what matters most to us at this point in time and taking concrete action steps that are guided by these values. I focus on helping clients identify these goals and, also, what gets in the way of moving towards them. I have used the ACT skills individually with clients and taught the skills in various group and class formats. Over my years of practice, I have received the most positive responses from clients with this modality.
DBT addresses emotion regulation, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness. It is especially helpful to those of us who have intensities of emotion that sometimes lead us away from our goals, values, and what we really want from life. Specific tools help us to navigate those emotions and use them more effectively in relationships with others. I have completed some intensive DBT trainings and led skills training groups for clients in DBT. I have seen remarkable change in people's relationship with themselves and with others, using these tools.
I believe that much of what inhibits us from living our best life is trauma-related. Healing is possible!! Grounding ourselves in the present moment and integrating split off parts of ourself can re-empower us to feel more in charge of our own lives. Learning to nurture and re-parent the younger parts of ourselves builds our sense of meaning, belonging and rightness in the world.