LCSW, 15 years of experience
New to Grow
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and have been a social worker for 15 years. I've worked with active duty, veterans, aging adults, kids, adolescents, couples and individuals over the course of my career. One thing that has remained constant regardless of who I've worked with, is that we all have had to combat anxiety or depression at some point. For some it has been a life long struggle, while for others there was life situation that brought those feelings on. I enjoy working with clients who are seeking strategies to manage their anxiety and depressive symptoms, because I've seen when they learn these strategies they're able to use them consistently for the other issues life brings.
When we have our first session, my goal is ensure you feel comfortable to share with me. The relationship between and therapist and their client is strongly related to how successful clients are with addressing their issues and practicing the skills they've learned. I like to get background information but also want to know the what made you start therapy, if you participated in therapy previously and what has worked or hasn't worked. The first session is about gathering information to develop a plan, together on your identified goals moving forward. I like to tell clients my goal is to be a supportive. I wouldn't be good at my job if I didn't help you build the confidence to practice the skills learned in session in your daily life.
I like to believe that my approach empowers potential clients to know that just because they struggle at times, they have the ability to be resilient. I've been told that I am honest and pose good questions to help clients challenge how they think. I've also been told I am good at recognizing patterns or cycles in a person's life and provide support on how to become "unstuck."
Have your been struggling with making decisions? Do you feel as if you people don't listen to you? Are you finding it difficult to connect with others, either at work or in your personal life? Have you experienced a traumatic event and struggle with processing what happened? There are times in our lives where we struggle with the day to day tasks. There's also times where we reflect on our lives and feel that we can improve in how we cope with our struggles. My goal as your therapist is to help you put words to how you feel so you can develop the positive coping skills to tackle life's challenges, improve your confidence and find your voice.
CBT is a strong method to address how our thoughts about situations impact our mood and behavior. When you take control of your thoughts, you gain the power to shift your perspective on many aspects of life.
I love CBT-i. When clients experience sleep disturbances, this is my go to because it breaks down the science of sleep and how your environment and body work either together or against each other. It also gives a structure on how to adjust poor sleeping habits.
When working with couples, the Gottman method has proven the most effective in improving communication and drawing closer to one another. The tools learned through the Gottman method are life long skills that help maintain a close connection for couples.
I like Solution Focused therapy when there's a specific, targeted issue that clients want to address. This is good for adjusting to a new job, environment or just needing the reassurance when you're trying something different in life.