LMHC, 8 years of experience
My clients are people who want to move from feeling "stuck" to having a greater sense of purpose, empowerment and clarity. My approach to counseling uses a relational model that creates a safe environment where I encourage my clients to develop resiliency and self-empowerment. Life is very hard. My goal is to have each person leave a session feeling more capable to handle whatever life throws at them.
It's perfectly natural feel nervous before a first therapy session. During the first session we will spend time learning a little bit about each other, understanding what has lead you to therapy in the first place, and setting goals for what it is you expect to gain from the experience.
My primary goal is build a safe space free from judgment for my clients to feel understood and supported. Building a relationship of trust is vital to the therapeutic process. Often I find that I am not the first therapist people have seen so I take great care in learning about what worked or didn't work in past therapy to ensure a successful working relationship.
I am passionate about working with individuals from all backgrounds. I am equipped to work with a variety of challenges such as anxiety, depression, grief, relationship issues, stress, adjustment issues, coaching, faith, and LGBTQ+ issues.
Using CBT, I work with my clients to help them understand how patterns in thinking and/or feeling affect behavior. In a sense, we work to figure out why we do what we do and how make healthier decisions.
Person-centered therapy utilizes a client-directed collaborative relationship. I like to say that my clients are the captain of the ship and I am the first mate. You decide where we are going, I will use my tool kit to help get us there.
Trauma Informed Care works to help us understand how what has happened to us in the past or present is impacting our wellbeing. By working together with clients to unpack their trauma we can find a path forward reframing the event and employing better coping skills.