Licensed to practice in Virginia and accepts 19 insurances. Specializes in Anxiety, Depression, LGBTQ and 4 more.
(she/her)
New to Grow
I am a firm believer that every encounter in our life causes change in all parties involved, no matter how small the encounter. Even if the client and I agree or disagree about us being a good fit, we are both changed. We might not notice the change at first, but it's there. I try to bring my 100% to every session and I hope my clients do the same with the understanding that our 100% changes everyday due to life situations. I do share personal experiences with clients if it is appropriate to do so and I feel it would benefit the client. I am a mom of three young children and a wife, so I understand how life can get busy and overwhelming at times. I love to call these times our Life's Storms. We are just getting through the day(s) even if it just barely. By clients choosing to try to continue on even at the hardest points in the Life's Storms they are Braving Life's Storms. This doesn't mean that there aren't times when clients will have thoughts of wanting to just pause life, or run away and start over because that is normal and coming to counseling to seek help is brave and hard in and of itself.
During the first session, we will be getting to know each other, I will be asking more clarifying questions from the intake paperwork to help us both get on the same page of what you are wanting to work on. If we have time we will start to work on a treatment plan of goals to work on during our time tougher. This is where we will also learn more about whether we are a good fit or not. I tell clients the golden rule you should know by the third session if we are a good fit or not. If we are not a good fit, that's okay not every counselor is a good fit for every client. True healing and true work on the self cannot be done if you are not comfortable with the person who it giving you tools and techniques to try.
As a counselor, I meet the client where they are and what they are needing from the current session. We build off of the other sessions, but there are times things come up in between sessions that are more pressing for us to address. In one session the client might just need to vent about all the things going on and they next week they need to be challenged in their thinking. I am always open for feedback of what the client is needing. Clients who continuously don't do work between sessions might struggle to see change. I know life is busy and things get in the way; there is a difference between I forgot, life happened, I thought about it, but didn't write it down and it seemed easy enough in the session, but it ended up being more than I could handle.
My ideal client is someone who has anxiety, depression, trauma, or part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Clients who are coming to counseling because they want to work on things and not because someone else is making them come to therapy. Clients who want to learn more about what makes them act the way they do, who struggle with negative thoughts that prevent them from doing the things they want to do in life. Clients who are willing to at times explore past events that might help explain how they client got where they are today.
In sessions, I help clients find out what their core belief is as that is the center that affects one thoughts, emotions and behavior because they are all interconnected to each other. We work on thought logs to help challenge negative thoughts and explore coping skills. There are action plans (use to be called homework) for clients to work on outside of session, but its all to help the clients because clients are outside of session more than they are in session and it helps both therapist and client know if they understood the information we over or if we have to go over it again which is never a bad thing.
I am not certified as a Christian Counselor; however, my undergrad major was both counseling and Biblical Studies. I do not bring up religion in sessions unless the clients bring it up first. I will engage in conversations around religion, but I will also admit when the topics are out of my realm of knowledge and always encourage clients to speak with their own spiritual guide if our beliefs are different and I am not fully aware of the clients belief.
When it comes to Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing in session, we focus on grounding techniques first which takes multiple sessions, then we start to explore what the client is wanting to work on. However, not every client is ready or appropriate for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, so as we learn more about it other I assess to see if the client is appropriate for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing at that time. Where sessions are Telehealth we use tapping or other sources that are available online.
I meet the clients where they are at and help with work through their needs.