LPC, 4 years of experience
New to Grow
I'm the therapist who's cat (or dog) might make an appearance in session, loves to use visual tools, and maintains her own therapy. Hi, I'm Deanna and I would love to see pictures of your art, fur babies, and any TikTok you desire. I am always pleased to meet potential clients who may have had a poor experience with therapy in the past or starting therapy for the first time. There's no rush in a session with me, as I am only interested in focusing on what is most important to you.
The most common feedback I get after an intake or first session is that the client was nervous to start and felt calmer, validated and heard by the end. It's also very common to know quickly if we will be a good, compatible fit for each other. I encourage all new clients to check in with themselves after the first session (with any therapist), and make sure they felt like a good fit for you. You can expect transparency, warmth, and a mindset of only focusing on what might be most important for you.
I find that I offer a variety of coping skills that are usually considered through collaboration with my client, focusing on interest, creativity needs and individual barriers that can stop us from using a coping strategy. My clients and I are always coming up with a brand new coping/emotion regulation strategy that neither of us had considered before through the creative collaboration. With that said, I find that somatic processing can provide a deeper level of processing and healing, as not all of our experiences effect just our brains, but our bodies too. I tend to utilize somatic experiencing, emotion focused, and eclectic techniques to find a processing strategy that works for your individual needs and experiences.
Many of the clients that find me have found immense progress in trauma processing/healing, increase their self-identity/confidence, and explore aspects of their own thinking/behaviors, relationships and history. My clients tend to value the visual tools I utilize in session, the moments of laughter, and the validation of their own experiences. Although I mostly work with women or queer-identifying folx, I welcome anyone who has had a difficult time with therapy in the past or is ready to take the hour for themselves to focus on their wellness.
I utilize a variety of techniques that typically stem from Trauma Therapy, Emotion Focused Therapy, Somatic Processing, and Cognitive Behavioral Techniques. I find that there isn't a 'one-size fits' all approach to therapy and find that these techniques help me best connect, understand and help a client on their therapeutic journey.