(he/him)
New to Grow
As a therapist, I strive to create a safe, supportive, and practical space where clients can explore what they are experiencing, better understand their thoughts and emotions, and develop healthier ways of coping, communicating, and making decisions. I work with clients facing anxiety, depression, relationship stress, life transitions, grief, family concerns, and personal growth issues. My approach is compassionate, structured, and collaborative. I draw from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, strengths-based counseling, psychoeducation, and relationship-centered approaches to help clients gain insight and apply practical tools in their everyday lives. At the heart of my work is the belief that people can heal, grow, and build more meaningful lives and relationships when they are given the right support, guidance, and encouragement.
Our first session is an opportunity for us to begin building a therapeutic relationship in a safe, respectful, and supportive space. I understand that starting therapy can feel uncertain, so I work to make the first session comfortable, collaborative, and focused on helping you feel heard. During the first session, I will ask questions to better understand what brings you to therapy, what concerns you are currently facing, and what you hope will be different as a result of counseling. We may discuss your personal history, relationships, stressors, emotional health, coping patterns, strengths, and any previous counseling experiences. The goal is not to rush into solutions, but to understand your story and begin identifying what support would be most helpful. I also use the first session to clarify your goals for therapy. Some clients come in with very specific goals, such as reducing anxiety, improving communication, managing depression, or working through relationship conflict. Others simply know they feel stuck, overwhelmed, or disconnected. Either starting point is okay. Together, we will begin shaping a plan that fits your needs.
I bring warmth, clinical experience, cultural sensitivity, and practical insight to my sessions. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and educational psychologist, I understand that people are shaped by their thoughts, emotions, relationships, environments, family history, culture, faith, and life experiences. I try to help clients feel both supported and challenged in ways that promote real growth. One of my strengths is helping clients make sense of complex emotions and situations. Many people come to therapy feeling overwhelmed, confused, hurt, anxious, or stuck. I work to help them slow things down, identify patterns, understand what may be driving their reactions, and develop healthier ways to respond. I also bring a practical, teaching-oriented approach. Because of my background in education and psychology, I often use psychoeducation to help clients better understand themselves and their relationships. I may explain how anxiety affects thinking, how communication patterns escalate conflict, or how past experiences can shape current emotional responses. My goal is to help clients leave sessions with insight they can use in everyday life.
My ideal client is someone who is ready to better understand themselves, their patterns, and the choices that are shaping their life and relationships. I work especially well with adults, couples, and families who may be experiencing anxiety, depression, relationship conflict, life transitions, communication struggles, grief, stress, or difficulty managing emotions. Many of my clients are high-functioning on the outside but privately feel overwhelmed, stuck, disconnected, or unsure how to move forward. I appreciate working with clients who are willing to be honest, reflective, and engaged in the therapeutic process, even if they are not yet sure what change should look like. They do not have to have everything figured out before beginning therapy. In fact, many people begin counseling because they need a safe, structured space to sort through confusing emotions, repeated conflicts, painful experiences, or decisions that feel difficult to make alone. My ideal client values both insight and practical tools. They may want to understand why they think, feel, or respond the way they do, but they also want strategies they can use in real life. Using approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, psychoeducation, and strengths-based counseling, I help clients identify unhelpful thought patterns, improve communication, develop coping skills, and make healthier, more intentional decisions. In couples or relationship work, my ideal clients are individuals or partners who are willing to examine how their beliefs, expectations, communication styles, emotional triggers, and past experiences affect the relationship. I work well with couples who want to move beyond blame and toward greater understanding, emotional responsibility, trust, and connection. Ultimately, my ideal client is not someone who is perfect or problem-free. My ideal client is someone who is willing to begin the process of growth, healing, and change—one honest conversation at a time.
Other specialties
I identify as
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
My experience with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, has been shaped by my work with clients who are seeking practical tools to manage anxiety, depression, relationship stress, life transitions, and patterns of thinking that interfere with emotional well-being. In my practice, I use CBT to help clients understand the connection between their thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and choices. Many clients come to therapy feeling overwhelmed by negative self-talk, fear-based assumptions, avoidance, or repeated relational patterns. CBT allows us to slow that process down, identify unhelpful beliefs, and replace them with more balanced, realistic, and constructive ways of thinking. For example, when working with a client experiencing anxiety, I may help the client identify automatic thoughts such as “I’m going to fail,” “People are judging me,” or “I can’t handle this.” Together, we examine the evidence for and against those thoughts, explore alternative interpretations, and develop coping strategies such as thought reframing, behavioral experiments, relaxation skills, problem-solving, and gradual exposure to avoided situations. I also use CBT in relationship counseling by helping clients recognize how assumptions, interpretations, and communication habits affect emotional reactions and conflict. For instance, a spouse who thinks, “My partner doesn’t care about me,” may respond with withdrawal or criticism. Through CBT, we explore whether that thought is fully accurate, what other explanations may exist, and how the client can communicate needs more clearly and respond more intentionally. Overall, I use CBT as a structured, evidence-informed approach that helps clients gain insight, develop practical coping skills, and make meaningful changes in daily life. My goal is not simply to help clients think more positively, but to help them think more accurately, respond more effectively, and build healthier patterns of behavior.