Licensed to practice in North Carolina and accepts 9 insurances. Specializes in Men's Issues, First Responders/Healthcare Workers, Depression and 10 more.
(he/him)
New to Grow
Seeking support takes courage, and you don't have to have everything figured out before reaching out. If a part of you hopes life could feel different, that's enough for us to begin. I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who believes meaningful change begins with understanding ourselves rather than judging ourselves. My approach is honest, collaborative, and practical, blending evidence-based therapies with curiosity, compassion, and authenticity. Together, we'll explore your experiences, develop practical tools, and identify meaningful changes that align with the life you want to live. I work with adolescents (15+), adults, and older adults, supporting individuals from diverse backgrounds across outpatient, community-based, and inpatient behavioral health settings. While I welcome clients of all genders, I'm intentionally building a specialty in helping men navigate the unique pressures of masculinity, relationships, fatherhood, identity, burnout, and life transitions. My experience working across a variety of behavioral healthcare settings has also given me firsthand insight into the unique challenges faced by healthcare professionals, emergency responders, and others in demanding careers, including chronic stress, secondary trauma, compassion fatigue, burnout, and the emotional weight of caring for others. Whether you're navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, life transitions, or simply feeling stuck, my goal is to create a space where you feel heard, understood, appropriately challenged, and supported. You don't need to have the words or a clear plan. We'll move at a pace that reflects your needs while working toward greater clarity, healing, and lasting growth.
Seeking treatment of any kind can feel overwhelming, especially when we're unsure where to begin. Our first session is an opportunity for us to get to know one another, better understand what led you to seek support, and determine whether we're a good fit for working together. There isn't a right or wrong place to start, and everything doesn't have to be figured out beforehand. Our first session is primarily a Comprehensive Clinical Assessment (CCA). Rather than diving deeply into difficult experiences or doing the "heavy lifting" of therapy, our focus will be on developing an overall understanding of your current concerns and the factors that have brought you to this point. Think of it as creating a snapshot of where things are today. We'll discuss your presenting concerns, current symptoms, when they began, and how they've been affecting areas of your life such as relationships, work or school, daily responsibilities, sleep, physical health, and overall functioning. We'll also review relevant treatment history, medical and behavioral health history, medications, significant life experiences, family history, current stressors, strengths, supports, and the coping strategies you've relied on over time. This process helps me understand the broader context of your experiences while identifying any immediate needs, safety concerns, or barriers that may be affecting your well-being. If topics such as trauma or other deeply personal experiences arise, we'll only explore them to the extent necessary to understand how they may be impacting you today. There is no expectation that you'll tell your entire life story during our first meeting. My role is to listen, ask thoughtful questions, and begin developing a clinical understanding of your unique experiences. I'll also answer any questions you have about therapy, my approach, or what to expect moving forward. As we gain a better understanding of your needs over the first few sessions, we'll work collaboratively to develop a treatment plan tailored to your goals, strengths, values, and circumstances. By the end of our first session, my hope is that you'll leave feeling heard, understood, and with a clearer understanding of the next steps. Therapy is a process, and our first session simply lays the foundation for the work we'll do together.
Therapy isn't simply talking through problems or offering advice. Lasting change begins with understanding why we think, feel, and respond the way we do. Before focusing on what needs to change, I believe it's important to make sense of our experiences, relationships, and patterns that have shaped us. Understanding ourselves doesn't remove responsibility, but it often replaces shame with compassion and creates opportunities to make more intentional choices moving forward. My approach is active, collaborative, and practical. While there are times when simply being heard is exactly what we need, there are also times when growth requires honest conversations, new perspectives, and a willingness to challenge beliefs or patterns that may no longer align with who we are or who we're becoming. I'll ask intentional questions, offer observations, and encourage reflection. Rather than telling you what to think or do, I'll help you develop the insight, confidence, and practical tools needed to make decisions that reflect your values and the life you want to build. Over the past 12+ years, I've had the privilege of supporting adolescents, adults, and families across outpatient, community-based, and high-acuity inpatient behavioral health settings. I've worked alongside individuals navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, suicidal ideation, grief, relationship challenges, severe and persistent mental illness, substance use, life transitions, and other complex mental health concerns. My own experience working in hospital systems and other high-acuity behavioral health environments has also provided me with firsthand insight into the demands placed on healthcare professionals, emergency responders, and others in high-responsibility careers. I understand the realities of chronic stress, secondary trauma, compassion fatigue, burnout, and the pressure to continue showing up for others while often placing our own well-being last. Those experiences have reinforced that no two people are the same, and no single therapeutic approach works for everyone. My goal is to meet you where you are, adapt therapy to your unique needs, and create a thoughtful, collaborative process that supports meaningful, lasting change.
I work best with adolescents and adults seeking a supportive, honest, and collaborative therapeutic relationship. Drawing from extensive experience across outpatient, community-based, inpatient, and leadership settings, I have worked with individuals from diverse backgrounds and life experiences. While I welcome clients of all genders, I am intentionally building a specialty in supporting men as they navigate the unique challenges they face. Many of the men I work with are wrestling with societal expectations of masculinity, difficulty expressing emotions, relationship stress, fatherhood, identity, perfectionism, burnout, anger, grief, or the belief that they have to carry life's burdens alone. Together, we work to challenge unhelpful narratives, break through limiting beliefs and aspects of toxic masculinity, develop healthier coping strategies, and define a version of manhood rooted in authenticity, values, and self-compassion rather than others' expectations. I also work with individuals of all genders experiencing anxiety, depression, PTSD/C-PTSD, suicidal thoughts, life transitions, and challenges related to self-worth, identity, and purpose. You don't have to know exactly what you need from therapy to benefit from it. You don't need to have the words or a clear plan. Even if you're uncertain where to begin, if a part of you hopes life could feel different, that's enough for us to start creating opportunities for growth, healing, and meaningful change.
Other specialties
I identify as
Trauma Informed Care
I recognize that many of the ways we cope today grew out of a need to survive at an earlier point in life. The very strategies that once helped us get through difficult experiences often lead to challenges in other areas of our lives. Rather than asking, "What's wrong with me?" we can explore, "What have I been carrying, and how has it shaped the way I see myself, others, and move through the world?" We'll move at a pace that feels safe, approaching your experiences with curiosity and compassion rather than shame or judgment.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Many of us develop ways of thinking and coping that made sense at one point in our lives but no longer align with who we are or who we're becoming. Together, we'll explore the connections between our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and determine whether the stories we tell ourselves are helping us become the people we want to be. If not, we'll work toward more balanced and effective ways of responding that reflect the values and goals that matter most to us.
Psychoeducation
There can be a great sense of relief in realizing, "I'm not weak or broken. There's a reason this makes sense." I use psychoeducation to help us understand what's happening beneath the surface, providing context for our thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and relationships. When we understand ourselves better, we're often able to approach ourselves with greater compassion and make choices that better align with who we want to be.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
Life doesn't stop being difficult simply because we want it to. Together, we'll learn to acknowledge difficult thoughts and emotions without allowing them to control us or make our decisions for us. We'll identify what matters most and take intentional steps toward becoming the people we want to be, even when life feels uncertain or uncomfortable.
Motivational Interviewing
There are often good reasons we do the things we do, even when part of us wants something different. Together, we'll explore the tension between where we are and where we want to be without shame, judgment, or pressure. My role isn't to tell you what you should do, but to help you uncover what matters most, strengthen confidence in your ability to create change, and support you in taking intentional steps toward the life you want to create.