Hi, I am a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in CT and NC, and a licensed Addictions Therapist in NC. I also have my Certification as an Expressive Arts Therapist. I have been working with individuals (ages 12 to adult), families, and couples for 39 years helping people manage emotions skillfully, become unstuck, process grief, improve relationships, and to be a support to live a valued life, while creating a safe space to do the work. I have intensive training in and integrate Family Systems Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance Commitment Therapy, and Compassion Focused Therapy. I am also a trauma focused therapist. My overarching commitment is to help people realize their psychological flexibility and their valued life.
In our first session together, we'll start with brief introductions, and I will talk about administrative logistics quickly. I will ask you intake questions and gather pertinent individual information along with your goals to help me start formulating a treatment plan, which is a collaboration between you and me to fit your needs. We will check in on these goals throughout our future session together to evaluate how it is going and if we need to change the plan. You will experience an attentive and comfortable therapist, who trusts the process of our interaction to best suit your needs.
Given my reasons for dedicating myself to a profession that walks with, treats, and supports people's well-being, and having had my own struggles/obstacles and positive outcomes in my own life, you will be working with a seasoned and experienced clinician, who is honored to work with you. I understand fully how vulnerable this work can be. We are very adept as humans, for example, to avoid pieces of our life that are hard to look at and explore. And at other times we don't even know what the pieces are that need attention. You will find that I am very willing to meet you where you are, and to go at the speed you want as well as evaluating and gauging when it is a good time to challenge you a bit to look at those avoided spots that may be the key to the obstacles in your life. I am very organic in my process and am very skilled at "reading the room" so to speak. Clients have said that they find me to be relaxed and to set them at ease as a result. You will find a supportive, non-judgmental ally who will be with you as you weave the life you create, and I have collected and cultivated many evidenced-based tools and practices to support you and your goals. Bottom line and honestly, I have a passion for working with people and creating a relaxed atmosphere where you can find validation and safety to do the important work.
I integrate DBT with 3rd Wave CBT modalities such as Compassion Focused Therapy and Acceptance Commitment Therapy, as well as with Expressive Arts Therapy all of which I have intensive training. And I use Family Sytems Therapy, which is my primary training as a foundation for the other work. I can incorporate a manualized approach, but I prefer a more organic method of building an individual approach to your particular needs and tools that would be beneficial towards your goals and values.