LCSW, 15 years of experience
New to Grow
Que Sí. Hablamos Español para servirles bien, especialmente en esta epoca de locura ! I’m Bilingual/ Bi-cultural and have over 20 years of experience (15+ licensed). Grateful for my brilliant Smith College Social Work mentors, my learning via mission work in Central America, reciprocal mentoring of new Therapists, and ongoing bilingual volunteerism with the Red Cross. My evidence-based treatment honors intersections of identity and lived experiences unique to each client. Your healing and wellbeing are my priority, and the reason why I chose this second career. Are you ready to take the next step (to leave fear, pain, shame, etc, behind) ? It can be a little scary. AND . . . you are absolutely worth it. I am innovative and creative, committed to my personal growth, especially in areas aligned with my values. Culturally sensitive , inclusive , honoring the inherent dignity and worth of ALL humans (no exceptions), affirming and supporting disenfranchised communities, mindful use of language, and respectful engagement that embodies a healthy curiosity, and a willingness to learn from you, about you, ALL express who I continue to strive to become.
Our first session can unfold in ways that accommodate/facilitate your need for a sense of comfort and safety, while ensuring that we attend to some of the essential information required, and co-create space for us to learn more about each other. To that end, if you would like to undermine the stress of feeling like too much information is required during the initial session, we can look at having you provide that information prior to our initial session, if you like. Ultimately, it is about creating ease, not adding to your stress level.
My clients appreciate my capacity for insight. They value feeling seen, heard and understood. They enjoy my whacking sense of humor, while understanding the seriousness of this work, and our journey together. They respect that we are learning, healing and becoming our best individual selves, TOGETHER. They know that I am invested, that I care, and that that will never change.
Clients who desire to gain knowledge, insight, learn assessment and problem-solving skills, to identify, and resolve, thought patterns, cycles of behavior with predictable unwanted outcomes, are clients I know are IDEAL for me. Clients who recognize that their input is essential in this solution-focused partnership, and that goal attainment simply cannot happen, unless we each commit to doing our part, are folks whom I am even more EAGER to serve!
Long before mental health professionals became clinically invested in understanding attachment theory to support clients' understanding of the origins of the challenges they face, it was already one of the most widely used, influential theories for understanding human development. It does not seek to psychopathologize people, but rather to help us all understand what may be roots of our thoughts and behaviors.
Whether maximizing the utility of the whole of DBT, or just applying a few of the strategic interventions where applicable, it is an awesome way to support clients in understanding difficulties with self-regulation of intense emotions, somatic reactivity, and their impact on relational dynamics (how we are as social beings). What seems to help clients most is improved self-understanding and learning that they have the ability to use DBT skills to take their power back, and choose to create different interpersonal experiences and outcomes. It's A-MAZING !
Trauma is not about hoe everyone else defines it, but how specific events in our individual lives impact our functioning and our quality of life. Some people may dismiss events as not traumatic, while others may experience something similar and know that they will never be the same. TIC is a way to help clients teach us about your unique experience and its impact on the quality of your life now. The severity of the impact will help us prioritize what to tackle and how.
In the external world, one size does not fit all. The same is true for our internal world. You can't successfully bake a cake using only one ingredient. We are multi-faceted, complex beings with unique histories, herstories, and theirstories dictating that using multi-modality approach (more than one ingredient for our recipe) supports comprehensive healing and wholeness.