LCSW, 10 years of experience
New to Grow
I work with individual adult clients anywhere in Oregon who are dealing with relationship difficulties, anxiety, depression, trauma, OCD, family challenges, and struggles in personal growth. I specialize in helping my clients improve communication skills in relationships of all kinds. I also specialize in working with clients who are LGBTQ+, in or exploring non-traditional relationships, or who have non-traditional identities and practices of any kind. I use evidence-based tools like cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy, and I listen without judging. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, I respect each client as a complex human being, not as a diagnosis or a label. I'll work with you at your own pace to understand your challenges, and we'll find solutions together. All my appointments are by video or phone. I'm the therapist who doesn't need to have polyamory explained to him, who doesn't clutch his pearls when you talk about kink, and who knows queer and gender-nonconforming identities are healthy. Whether or not any of this applies to you, I'm here to help you.
I see therapy as cooperative and I want to help you feel comfortable in therapy. I start by asking about what you're looking for help with, what you feel is important for me to know about you, and which experiences have been important in your life so far. I'd also love for your to tell me what your past experiences in therapy have been like, and how the two of us can communicate as well as possible to get you what you need. Asking for help is a brave thing, and that deserves to be appreciated.
I know that everyone is more than their problems and that the motivations for our actions are more complicated than they might seem, so you can count on me not to judge you. You don't have to see things the same way I do, or have the same goals I would, for me to want to help you. I've helped my clients form healthier relationships with partners, family, coworkers, and themselves throughout my career. I explain coping mechanisms in ways that are tailored to each individual client, and I'll help you set realistic goals and expectations as we both do the work to improve your life.
I work best with clients who want to make a positive change in their lives, even when they're not sure how to do it yet or how to get ready for it. I welcome clients who are tired of explaining their lifestyles to past therapists who don't understand them, and who want to improve communication and boundaries in relationships of any kind. If you're willing to ask yourself challenging questions and get help figuring out the answers that are right for you, I'll be glad to be your therapist. Feel free to bring a sense of humor, too.
I've been using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy throughout my career to help my clients question assumptions they didn't realize they were making and see where things they've learned from past experiences might not apply to their current situations.
For more than a decade, Dialectical Behavior Therapy has helped my clients recognize and build their resilience, improve their people skills, and manage their emotions and actions in healthy ways even when things suck.
Focusing on specific actions can help bring more immediate results to therapy, and expressing abstract things like feelings in concrete ways like "My anger is a 6 out of 10 right now" can help us understand ourselves and our problems better.
Even if our problems are more than we have tools to deal with, it's important to recognize the tools we still have - that's a lot better than thinking we're starting with nothing. We also deserve to give ourselves credit for the progress we're making, even if we're not completely at the goal yet.