Are you an adolescent, college kid, or young adult who is interested in therapy? Great, that's my thing! I work exclusively with young adults, from high schoolers to 20-somethings. Working with this special age group is more than a job to me; it is both a calling and my greatest honor. I am immensely proud to be a safe, non-judgmental adult for many young people.
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
First sessions always take the form of an intake appointment where we will have the opportunity to discuss your psychosocial history, current symptoms, and goals for treatment. The discussion is facilitated using an intake form that we'll talk through together. The overall purpose of the first session is to paint the big picture, not finalize the details and shading. The appointment can also be held with a parent/guardian first if you would prefer.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
Growing up, I was made to feel too sensitive, too anxious, too shy, "too__ " a lot of things, and I still carry some of that with me. Above all else, my goal is to help you feel worthy and "enough" just the way that you are. That's not to say we won't work to improve our unhelpful habits & symptoms, but there's a way to do that and it never involves shame. I also appreciate my integrative approach to therapy. There are countless therapeutic approaches and modalities, and they all work differently for different people and circumstances. I like to use the "best of the best" method; I pull the most impactful or relevant pieces from a variety of modalities and integrate them into your personal treatment. There is no such thing as one-size-fits-all in therapy, so I tailor our sessions based on what you need that week. My go-to approaches to pull from include: CBT, DBT, Humanistic, Compassion-Focused, Somatic, Gestalt, Solution-Focused, Strengths-Based, and Feminist Therapies ... with a sprinkle of the arts like music, dance, or art therapy.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
My ideal client is a teenager or young adult who is comfortable with (and capable of having) meaningful conversations via telehealth. I don't like to enforce an exact age limitation because everyone is unique, but generally speaking my telehealth clients are between the ages of 13-25. Some of the most common themes in my work with clients include: building self-esteem, self-reliance, and self-advocacy skills; coping with major changes such as moving, graduating, or living on your own; navigating peer, familial, and/or romantic relationships; managing depression, anxiety, stress, and anger; processing difficult or traumatic events; and women's & LGBTQIA+ stressors and concerns.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
CBT is an amazing tool for anyone at any age. The main idea of CBT is that our thoughts directly impact our feelings, and our feelings directly impact how we act or what we do. If we can change our thoughts, we can change our feelings, and we can change our behavior. CBT helps us recognize unhelpful patterns in our thinking that often contribute to chronic feelings of anxiety, frustration, anger, and depression. Here's an example: say you're transferring to a new college and you're having thoughts like "what if I don't make friends?" --> those thoughts lead you to feel anxious and sick to your stomach --> those feelings make you cry, panic, and you're having trouble functioning. CBT teaches us to recognize that our initial thoughts (no friends, so alone) are only assumptions, we're trying to predict the future, and that this whole thing hasn't even happened yet! With CBT skills, you can reframe your initial thoughts into ones that are more realistic and fair, such as "I have made friends before, and I'll most likely make them again." Those reframed thoughts now allow you to feel confident and curious about the future, and your anxiety is more manageable.
Person-centered (Rogerian)
Person-Centered Therapy is the cornerstone of every interaction I've ever had with my clients. Person-Centered Therapy emphasizes how critical it is to provide clients, especially young, growing, and impressionable clients, with something called "unconditional positive regard." This is the belief that all children deserve warmth, empathy, acceptance, and love regardless of their actions, beliefs, or circumstances. It's sort of like the technical term for the saying "I love you no matter what you do." This reassures children that their worth is intrinsic; it is not dependent on their actions.
Strength-Based
No matter their flaws, every single person has a particular set of skills (help somebody pls get my reference) that they are innately gifted with. Also, many people have consciously taken the time and effort to develop different strengths and interests. Strengths-Based Therapy (SBT) tells us to work smarter not harder by utilizing the strengths we already have, instead of always perceiving things based on what we lack. SBT involves exploring our strengths/resources, identifying which ones are well-established (and/or which ones that are almost there), celebrating them, and using them to our advantage. You like to play basketball and are seeking more interaction with people to combat your depression? Great, the township court by the library has pick-up games every Monday night. You used to love playing with Legos when you were little and are trying to find impactful self-care activities that don't involve putting cucumbers on your eyes? Cool, Target sells really cute Lego sets, they even have the new Wicked ones. Another neat aspect of SBT is reframing and capitalizing on your ~possibly not so desirable, but are still a big part of your personality~ traits. Your teenager is "argumentative and talks back" and she really needs to find an extracurricular to add to her growing resume? Awesome, Mock Trial auditions are next month. I will always help you to recognize, reframe, and use what you've already got going for you. I am extremely passionate about the work smarter not harder lifestyle.
Compassion Focused
I am constantly telling my clients that they need to treat themselves the way they would treat a loved one or dear friend. If a friend turned in a project late because they were overwhelmed and confused with the work, would you ever say to them "you're so lazy and irresponsible, you really need to get your act together?" ABSOLUTELY NOT. Most likely you'd say something along the lines of "I feel you, we have so much work this quarter" or maybe even "let me know if you need help next time." Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) is an approach that profoundly benefits those of us who are quick to self-shame and self-criticize. Some people tend to be unreasonably harsh and don't treat themselves with the same sense of love, patience, and understanding that they would give someone else. The overarching goal of CFT is to build a sense of compassion and understanding towards ourselves and others. I support my clients in recognizing and calling out their internal hostility and insecurity, and replacing it with kindness and respect. Doing so helps clients to feel calm and safe in their own beings and bodies. Practicing compassion towards others (instead of automatically interpreting their actions in a negative way) also helps people experience less social anxiety, self-consciousness, frustration, and emotional dysregulation.