LCSW, 6 years of experience
My name is Breah and I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in CT. I have worked in the mental health field for over 5 years with clients ages 5-60+. I believe in clients being the expert on their lives and working in partnership with clients in reaching their personal goals. I’ve seen many clients excel and utilize the strategies and skills learned in therapy in their daily lives.
In our first session, we will explore what lead to you seeking therapy services and review the intake questions. We will explore the role you want your therapist to play in your mental health journey and your ideal therapeutic environment/relationship. As we explore this information, we will be determining if this is a good fit while also starting to build rapport. By the end of the first 2-3 sessions, our treatment goals for the next 2-3 months will be discussed and established. Cancellation & Attendance Policy Please carefully review the following policies: Location Requirement: In order to meet for session, you must physically be located in Connecticut during your session time. Also, you cannot operate a motor vehicle during our session. If you attempt to join from outside of Connecticut or operate a motor vehicle during session, you will be given a 10 minute grace period to be able to relocate/park motor vehicle. If not able or willing to, your session will be cancelled and a late cancellation/no show fee will apply if applicable. Mandated Reporting: I am part of one of many professions that are mandated reporters. Therefore, I will call the Careline/DCF if someone wants to hurt a child, if someone wants to hurt a child,a child is threatening to hurt themselves or a child wants to hurt someone. I will have an open discussion with you regarding if I will have to report unless there is a safety concern. I am also required to report to your local emergency services if someone is actively threatening to hurt someone else and if you are actively threatening to hurt yourself/hurt others/or if there is a concern for safety/well-being/functioning. Intake Sessions: All intake paperwork must be completed before your scheduled intake session. If documents are not submitted, the session will be rescheduled once and then cancelled if not completed prior to rescheduled appointment.Completion of intake paperwork prior to intake session allows provider to better assist in identifying appropriate resources and treatment. Failure to attend both the original intake date and the rescheduled intake date will result in non-acceptance as a client & being provided referrals through Grow Therapy’s referral system. Late cancellation/no show fee applied if applicable. Follow-Up Appointments: All sessions will be held via Grow Therapy Telehealth platform and will be recurring for the same agreed upon day and time. Sessions are scheduled on the hour (7AM,8AM,etc) and sessions are 50-60 minutes each. Sessions will be cancelled after 15 minutes of waiting if you are not present on-time. Sessions will have to be rescheduled or cancelled if you will be more than 15 minutes late to session & late cancellation/no-show fee will be applied if applicable. To avoid fees, please cancel or reschedule at least 24 hours in advance. Missed or Canceled Sessions: 2 missed/no show or 3 late cancelled sessions within a 4 week time period may result in discharge from services, referral to other providers or in-person services, and encouragement to return for therapy services when you are able to attend consistently to work toward your goals. This policy is to promote consistency, effectiveness of therapy, accountability and encouragement to honor self & work toward your goals. Termination of Services: If you are interested in ending therapy services or feel it is not a good fit, Please feel free to communicate with me so we can discuss and I can support you and assist you in your next steps. Legal & Documentation Policy: I do not provide legal or administrative documentation, including but not limited to, letters for court,schools or the Department of Children and Families(DCF).My role in this therapeutic relationship is to support you and I encourage you to seek appropriate professional resources for legal or administrative needs. If you sign a release of information (ROI) for me to communicate with any if these entities, I will have an open discussion with you regarding information I would be able to provide in order to allow you to make decision regarding release of information(ROI).
I feel my experience in various mental health settings has allowed me the privilege of learning more about treatment options & resources available, and different ways individuals can be heard, empowered and supported. Being able to be a part of various mental health settings, I am able to better understand a client’s experience navigating the mental health system & hopefully be able to assist in making sure client’s needs are met as best as possible.
My ideal client is an adult seeking support and assistance in navigating life’s ups and downs. A person who is ready or even contemplating changing the way they interact with others and/or with themselves. Someone who wants to learn how to change some of their behaviors and habits for the better & is receptive of a mental health professional that assists in growing these skills, but also empowers you to advocate for yourself, implement your skills, and make your own educated choices and decisions.
• The importance of trauma-Informed care has been evident to me since starting my career in direct care. It has shown to be widely beneficial to clients & the foundation of the client-therapist relationship. Trauma-Informed Care emphasizes the importance of understanding the signs & symptoms of trauma, supporting your client & creating a safe & secure space for them to process life events/stressor, while also actively trying to avoid re-traumatizing the client. While practicing, I incorporate this care approach into our therapeutic relationship by meeting you where you are and collaborating with you on determining your goals for treatment. I’ll encourage you to advocate for yourself & build a therapeutic environment where you can be transparent about yourself, your experiences and your Therapy experience. I will empower you by acknowledging your strengths & helping you to identify & improve your weaknesses.
• I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques with all of my clients at one point or multiple points during their treatment to assist in raising awareness in connection between emotions, thoughts and behaviors. This is essential to every clients’ treatment to hone skills around emotion expression and emotion regulation. Without acknowledging the connection between the three, I feel I would difficult for clients to process occurrences in their lives & change their behaviors or maladaptive coping skills. It could also prevent them from being able to engage in perspective taking & show empathy toward themselves & others.
• I feel like most if not all of our behaviors, mannerisms and “ways” stem from somewhere. This makes me a firm believer in working with clients to identify the start of a behavior/mannerism and the purpose it once or still serves. Some people do not realize how occurrences from our childhood or how behaviors/mannerisms modelled to us by our loved ones or environment influences how we exist & interact in the world from infancy to older adulthood. In order to make some changes in our lives, sometimes we have to identify the source of these behaviors/mannerisms/thought processes and identify how the cycle is going to break with you. It will be hard but I will be there to support you on your journey.
• Although someone may be of a certain race/ethnicity and lived in a certain state or country, it does not mean they all had the same experiences, have the same beliefs or identify the same way. It is important that as mental health professionals we facilitate conversations with our clients to ensure we are honoring their identity, norms and beliefs in the Therapeutic relationship & in our documentation. This includes asking questions to make sure we are understanding the client as much as we are able to. This also means being transparent with ourselves and the client if we feel we cannot support the client to our best ability.
• You are the expert on you & what works for one person may not work for the other. This is why I utilize person centered methods in my practice by providing an empathetic, non-judgmental and client-focused therapeutic space. In doing so, I operate in a supportive & guiding role while showing unconditional positive regard for my clients. I empower clients to learn their own way to identify & process their feelings and explore their perceptions of themselves & beliefs. This is possible by utilizing clarifying & prompting questions with clients and being transparent in the therapeutic relationship while also respecting client’s autonomy as much as possible.