(she/her)
Hi! My name is Sam and I'm a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who provides individual and family therapy to clients located in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. I've been working with different populations of clients in various settings throughout the 20+ years I've been providing mental health services. I strive to provide a welcoming and compassionate working relationship with my clients that focuses on meeting each person "where they're at" in the therapy process. From assisting in identifying different ways to think about/process situations to asking tough questions to providing positive verbal feedback/reinforcement, my goal is to help people recognize the changes they'd like to make and the ways in which those changes can become a reality.
The initial sessions I hold with patients typically assist me in getting an understanding of who my client is, including (but not limited to) learning information about where they're from, what kind of work/school they're involved with, mental health symptoms they've experienced/are experiencing, their family, what's most important to them, and what they'd like to improve by us working together. The initial session will also provide my client some information about me, including my prior work experience, my education, my interests, and my dogs.
Some of the best feedback I've received from clients has been them expressing the ease at which they feel they can talk to me, the compassion they feel from the work I do with them, and my laid-back/curious/non-judgmental approach to working with them.
My ideal client is able to recognize that they need to make a change in their life, even if they're not necessarily sure of how to begin to make that change. They're ready to explore their thoughts, feelings, concerns, and needs and how they might ensure those needs are met. They'll be able and willing to identify that they do not have to be a victim in the situations that they find themselves in and that they can instead focus on themselves and how to work to put themselves in situations that are more verbally and physically healthy for them. My ideal client likely has a pet, which I'll want to know all about (because pets are family members, too) or a hobby/interest that they are passionate about; understanding things that are important to my client is helpful to me and helps us build a working relationship together.
Other specialties
I identify as
Solution Focused Brief Treatment
My primary treatment method is utilizing Solution-Focused Therapy to assist clients in identifying current stressors that cause them emotional responses and helping clients to identify coping skills to better manage those stressors and their reactions to them.