LMHC, 5 years of experience
New to Grow
Hi, I'm Shelby! If you're reading this, you've begun the courageous act of seeking support. That is often the hardest part. I am so glad you're here. I am not a Florida native, but was drawn here by the beaches and sunshine. I have a love for nature and its ability to re-set my entire system when i'm surrounded in it. If I could choose a place to be, I would choose a big, dense, crisp forest, soaking in the sounds of leaves crunching beneath my feet, birds chirping, and water flowing over the creek bed. My love for nature coincides with my intention to live a life of vitality as I continuously work on personal and professional growth. There is never an end to the learning process and life is a constant teacher. This mindset encourages me to be curious rather than judgmental; a skill that is a part of my therapeutic work.
In your first session, we'll explore what brought you to therapy, and then decide the most appropriate ways to help you make progress. As a client, you can expect to gain understanding and compassion for yourself. Through the use of mindfulness based practices, somatic tracking, and skill development, you will begin to rewrite your story and develop a sense of safety from within. You will be empowered to live the life you want to live and reach the goals you've set out to reach.
You will find me to be a person who listens intently and seeks to understand before jumping into "solving problems". I see each client as having unique strengths that make them resilient to the challenging experiences they have faced. Clients often find that working with me feels safe and actionable. My work with clients of all ages has given me perspective and deepened my compassion for the hurting. I believe that no one should feel alone in their struggles and when we have a felt sense of connectedness, we will bloom.
My 5+ years of experience started with a focus on supporting children and families. I have experience applying play therapy, child parent psychotherapy, and trust-based relational interventions. These approaches are trauma informed and support the child-parent/caregiver relationship. As I continued in the field, I expanded my focus to supporting not only children and families, but also teens, and adults using a client-centered integrative approach. I work with clients experiencing anxiety, depression, ADHD, BPD, trauma, emotion regulation challenges, relationship challenges, and parenting challenges. As a mother myself, I recognize the impact that the perinatal period and beyond can have on one's mental health. Because of this, I am passionate about creating a safe space for women to be heard and seen in their experience of motherhood or loss of motherhood. In my practice, I use a collaborative approach to healing, working alongside you to reach your goals. Experience has taught me that healing cannot happen outside of a safe and trusting relationship. I seek to empower, guide, and develop safety from within. Compassion is the foundation from which I work and teach.
While focusing on the therapeutic relationship, I use an integrative approach, combining techniques and theories to best fit the client’s needs.
I use this approach to help clients build skills for everyday life. Using this approach, you will learn how to regulate emotions, build effective relationships, and tolerate stress effectively.
Mindfulness is key when approaching life’s challenges. This approach helps clients build awareness of internal and external experiences. There are many ways to practice mindfulness using somatic and grounding techniques.
This approach is helpful when children and/or parents experience trauma that impacts day to day life. We will work together, parents and child (children) to develop a sense of understanding of experiences and how their lives have been effected. This is an attachment based approach that recognizes the importance of the family system and how supportive relationships are a strong factor of resilience.