Hello! I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) based in Illinois. I received my MA in Clinical Psychology from Eastern Illinois University and have practiced for over 25 years. I enjoy helping people find hope again when struggling with depression, trauma, and self-injury. Life is hard, and sometimes we need to know that someone out there believes in us and knows that we can do hard things.
In our first session, I want to answer any questions you may have and get to know each other briefly. Time is of the essence, so while I'd love to take all the time to get to know a client, I know they are here to work and (re)start the healing process. I prefer clients to come up with around three areas they want to address or focus on, and we develop a plan together on how to get to work.
Patience, understanding, honesty, compassion, and a willingness to admit that I do not know all the answers to life's problems, but that we will discover and find them together.
CBT is the largest part of my original training. Being more aware of our thoughts helps us change our beliefs and feelings that are hindering us on our journey of healing. It is far from the only method, so I have added other soft skills and approaches to this over the years.
In the last 6 years, especially since COVID, I have seen more loss and unresolved grief than I have in previous years. Embracing grief instead of avoiding it can be difficult, but necessary.
Empathy and compassion are paramount in counseling. Traumatized people have already walked through hell, and they need to know that someone will walk back through it with them, so they are not alone on the journey of healing.
Understanding our emotions and the thoughts behind them helps us move toward a brighter future. Avoidance is widespread today, in many different ways, preventing us from growing into our ideal selves.
Trauma-related counseling has been the fastest growing part of my career over the last 6 years. Abuse and neglect from domestic relationships and family dynamics have become less taboo to talk about.