(she/her)
Fifteen+ years go, I began my journey as a Marriage and Family Therapist. Since my start in the field, I have worked within substance abuse residential facilities, Drug Court, intensive in-home behavioral services, military families, and private practice with children, adults, and couples. I have provided support across a variety of populations over the years addressing anxiety, depression, and neurodivergent and immigrant and refugee populations. These experiences have shaped my therapeutic lens and the understanding of how larger systems like health, education, and economic status attribute to mental health challenges. The education and training I received aligned with my belief that mental health and wellness challenges are not developed solely through chemical and psychological disruptions, but are also an outcome of the systems and relationships that have shaped us and those we are currently in. From that perspective, my approach to therapy begins in exploring attachment. One's attachment style as developed in their childhood can trace relationship patterns as well as one's worldview identifying keys to distress. The way we seek comfort in distress impact not only our intimate relationships, but our work life and economic choices. Oftentimes, therapeutic progress has neglected how intricately interwoven are the body, soul, and spirit. Intersecting all three in sessions, I endeavor to proactively support individuals in developing their wellness lifestyle in order to be best informed when future barriers and areas of stuck-ness in life occur. I believe in the power of unveiling one's authentic self and harnessing their inherent strengths to achieve personal and professional fulfillment.
Progress begins with the process of partnership; thus, I prefer to have a consultation prior to starting sessions. It is imperative for me we feel we are a good fit for one another. And if so, in collaboration with you, we develop a space of safety to work toward a transformative journey - accessing your authentic, inner power, and growth. Our first session begins with an intake, reviewing current and historical aspects to your decision to start therapy. We then co-create your goals for therapy where I also explain my approach using Attachment, Solution-Focused, Cognitive Behavioral, and Narrative Therapies. I also review how therapy sessions will flow from there, balancing between the past and present to make sense of current functioning while also identifying and developing helpful strategies to get you where you desire to be. As a relational (or systemic) therapist this also explores your relationships and their influence in your health and wellness.
My background in International Psychology studies heightens my sensitivities to the unique cultural lens of each client. It is paramount for me to understand client perspective, language, and relationship values within their situation and support them in developing tools, strategies, techniques specific to their cultural dynamics and that celebrate their unique diversity: mind, body, and spirit. I am not a therapist who gives advice. I believe every client has the answer for their lives and life's beautiful mess causes doubts and insecurities to distract from those answers. My role is to help explore the barriers to these answers by accessing strengths, expanding inner processes, exploring meanings, and cheerleading forward progress. I am energetic, personable, and humorous. We will laugh in our sessions, sometimes even cry and/or pray if that is desired.
I work collaboratively with clients to help them identify their strengths, overcome limiting beliefs, and develop practical strategies for moving their life in the direction they desire. I am committed to providing a supportive and emotionally safe space for clients to dive into the process.
Attachment-based
Attachment-based work explores the way we seek closeness to others when we are in distress. Along with client, I explore client attachment roots and review current patterns in relationships to address issues in connecting with others as well as self-esteem, worldview, and how it impacts your relationships with others. By identifying and learning one's attachment style and the characteristics of others, clients are given the tools to build healthier relationships.
Person-centered (Rogerian)
Person-centered approaches puts the client at the center of the therapeutic process. By trusting the client as the expert of self, I believe clients have what they need to achieve the life they seek and it is the challenges of life that brings self-doubt. Using this method, along with the others identified, I flow and balance with client needs expressed in therapy, empower and bring awareness to client strengths and progress, while highlighting their capabilities and inner-working processes to develop solutions for their life.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
CBT is the process of exploring and exploring unhealthy thoughts (beliefs) that lead to undesired and poor behaviors and feelings. While exploring client history and throughout sessions, clients will learn to identify and challenge negative thinking patterns and develop processes to re-route thoughts to develop healthier and productive thoughts of self, others, and their present.
Solution Focused Brief Treatment
A brief solutions-focused lens uses the perspective of past successes in charting the way toward solutions in current challenges. Through this method, we explore the "formula(s)" (as I like to call it) that led to past success in challenging situations and explore if/how it can be tweaked to meet current needs. This is also an empowering approach as we typically move so quickly past achievements and rarely reflect on how much we gained in the process.
Multicultural
The multicultural lens embraces the cultural diversity within an individual and how their uniqueness at times has contributed to feelings of "otherness" within their larger community/society. Whether it is race, gender, ability, sexuality, economic, or religious, together, I work alongside clients to help them process through their feelings and develop strategies to help them create a sense of belonging and acceptance.
4 ratings with written reviews
February 3, 2026
She is very thorough. And goal oriented. Loved our first session.
May 14, 2025
Walanda is so genuine and really opens your mind to new ideas and possibilities. With each new session, I leave feeling more confident and comfortable with the things I face on my day to day basis. I think she is really a great therapist!
April 25, 2025
Walanda encompasses all the “styles” above. She is authentic, direct, intelligent, solution oriented, warm, open minded, empowering, holistic, humorous and challenging. It has been incredible having her help to tackle some of the most challenging parts of my life