(she/her)
New to Grow
My name is Kelly and I live in the Pacific Northwest. I love being a therapist and helping others feel seen, heard and understood. I value family, trust, relationships, honesty, growth, and education. I am a woman, a student of life, a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a nurturer, a cheerleader, a champion of the underrepresented, and a friend. I challenge myself to become the best version of myself, but also give myself the grace to be imperfect.
I feel that the idea of therapy is scary for most people, especially if they have never been to therapy or they have had a bad past experience with counseling. There are often worries like, "Am I going to be judged?", "Will my therapist tell me that I am a bad person or that something is wrong with me?", or "Will my therapist tell me that I'm the problem?". Therapy doesn't have to be what you have seen on tv and movies, a person sitting across from you, with little emotion and holding pen to paper (though I do occasionally jot down things I don't want to forget). My job is to make you feel comfortable and safe to share your thoughts and feelings without judgement, where it's okay to laugh and okay to cry. Our first session is getting basic information as a starting point. We will also be talking about what to expect.
My greatest strengths as a therapist are my empathy and warmth. I have experienced periods of my life in which I have experienced mental health struggles, so I understand where you are and will meet you there.
If you are looking for a therapist who feels safe, comfortable and non-judgmental, we will likely be a good fit and work well together. If you are looking for more of a formal, clinical style, I am probably not for you.
Person-centered (Rogerian)
Person-centered approach views the client as the expert of their own experiences and the therapist as more of a collaborator guide.