LCSW, 5 years of experience
Sometimes life becomes unmanageable on our own and we have to reach out for help. I am here to help normalize therapy and the discomfort that comes along with it. I am trained in EMDR, a modality used to help process traumatic memories and the cognitions associated with them. I specialize in working with individuals suffering from chronic anxiety, depression, complex trauma, emotional dysregulation, identity issues, addiction, LGBTQ+ issues, and everyday life stressors that can be difficult to manage. I provide a holistic approach in my practice utilizing methods from multiple modalities that include helping regulate emotions, manage anxiety and panic, and learning to heal from past trauma. I believe that it is crucial to look at things from a trauma-informed and cultural perspective in all aspects while working with individuals.
In the first session I like to better understand you. This will include questions about your upbringing, your family, identity, cultural norms, and how these things are presently with or not with you. I also will ask more about your current stressors, past experiences with therapy, and how we can best work together to ensure we accomplish your therapeutic goals.
Having worked with a diverse set of people over the years, I believe that I am truly willing and desire to meet you where you are at in your life. Therapy is about what goals you want to achieve based on your timeline and desires. I will always empower my clients to make the decisions and choices they feel ready and safe to do. With a combination of directness, challenging, and warmness, I believe I am able to help clients understand themselves better and build skillsets that will help them heal and live a more fulfilling life.
I love working with all groups of people. People who are struggling with anxiety, past traumas, their identity, sense of self, and emotions tend to work well with me. I have a mixture of being both structured, direct, and easy going in my therapeutic approach.
I have used EMDR to treat PTSD, phobias, panic attacks, chronic anxiety, and complex traumas. EMDR helps individuals process traumatic memories and the emotions, physical sensations, and thoughts associated with them. Utilizing this method also often helps people feel empowered about past traumas and within their own bodies.
ACT can be helpful to learn new skills to help regulate emotions, manage impulse control, and take a deeper look at how our behaviors are in alignment with our values.
Our sense of values, beliefs, and identity are often things that were provided to us before we could identify those things for ourselves. We are often moving through life carrying these belief systems with us without even knowing how they impact our life. Narrative therapy can be helpful to first identify what your beliefs are and how they impact your overall worldview and functioning. This modality is especially helpful for people who have experienced multiple traumas and LGBTQ+ identifying folks to better understand themselves.
We often have many wounded parts of ourselves that we try to bury with anxiety, impulsive behaviors, anger, substance use, excessive social media use, and negative thoughts. When doing internal family systems work, we focus on identifying the different parts of yourself that are being affected by behaviors or thoughts and we work on connecting to those parts. Using IFS with other treatments such as EMDR can be helpful to gaining further insight and developing skills that will help you feel more in control of your life.