In our first session together, here's what you can expect

Your first session with me is a chance to get to know one another, explore your goals for therapy, and begin building a trusting and collaborative relationship. I like to start by sharing a little about myself—my background, my journey, and how I approach therapy—because I’ve found that when clients understand a therapist’s humanity and life experience, it can make it easier to connect, trust, and feel understood. Many therapists don’t openly share their own story, and while there are professional boundaries, I believe that a therapist’s lived experiences can help clients feel that the guidance and insight I offer comes not just from books, but from someone who has “been through it.” I often joke that I, too, “went through the school of hard knocks,” and this honesty often helps clients feel more at ease, seen, and understood. After our brief introduction, I’ll want to hear about your goals for therapy and the challenges you are currently facing. I also like to learn about your personal and relational background—who you are, what has shaped your experiences, and the context of your life—so I can better understand what drives the patterns you want to change. I’m also very interested in your previous experiences with therapy, including what has been helpful and, perhaps more importantly, what didn’t work for you. This helps me tailor our work together to your unique needs, strengths, and preferences. Our first session is about laying the foundation for a collaborative process. I aim to create a space where you feel safe to explore difficult emotions, share your experiences, and ask questions. I will listen carefully, ask clarifying questions, and reflect back what I hear to make sure I understand your perspective. I also use this time to provide some insight into how I work—my integrative approach, which draws from family systems, psychodynamic, narrative, CBT, IFS, solution-focused, and attachment-informed therapies—and how these approaches might be applied in a way that meets your goals and resonates with your personal style. Ultimately, the first session is about connection and understanding. My goal is that you leave feeling heard, supported, and clear about the next steps in our work together. I want you to know that therapy is a collaborative journey: your voice, experiences, and perspective guide the process, and my role is to provide structure, insight, and tools to help you create meaningful change. Together, we explore what’s getting in the way,

The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions

One of my greatest strengths as a therapist is helping clients move beyond insight alone to create real, meaningful, and lasting change in their lives. Many of the clients I work with are highly self-aware and reflective, yet frustrated that understanding their thoughts, feelings, or patterns hasn’t led to the results they want. I help these clients break cycles of anxiety, depression, substance use, or grief that no longer serve them, providing practical tools, emotional support, and strategies that can be applied in real life. My work is not just about symptom reduction; it’s about building clarity, self-trust, resilience, and the confidence to create a life aligned with who they want to be. I use an integrative approach tailored to each client’s unique needs and goals. My work draws from family systems, psychodynamic, narrative, CBT, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and solution-focused therapies. This combination allows me to address challenges from multiple angles: exploring relational and historical patterns, increasing emotional awareness, identifying unhelpful thought and behavior patterns, fostering compassion for internal “parts,” and creating actionable, solution-oriented strategies. I also integrate attachment-informed perspectives, helping clients strengthen emotional regulation and relational security, and narrative approaches, which support reframing personal stories in empowering ways. My experience spans a variety of clinical settings, including intensive outpatient programs (IOP), partial hospitalization programs (PHP), and residential care, as well as outpatient therapy. This breadth has given me a deep understanding of complex mental health challenges and the ability to translate that knowledge into individualized care. Whether clients are managing chronic anxiety, navigating grief, struggling with substance use, or addressing relational and behavioral patterns, I combine structure, insight, and practical guidance to support tangible progress. Another core strength is my relational and collaborative style. I prioritize understanding each client’s previous experiences with therapy—the approaches that were helpful and those that were not—so we can co-create a plan that works for them. I aim to provide a safe, empathetic, and non-judgmental environment where clients feel heard, understood, and supported. Together, we explore what’s getting in the way of their goals, identify patterns that no longer serve them, and develop strategies that

The clients I'm best positioned to serve

I work with clients who feel caught in cycles of anxiety, depression, substance use, or grief—patterns that no longer serve them, yet they may feel unsure how to move forward. Many of my clients are highly insightful and self-aware, yet frustrated that insight alone hasn’t produced lasting change. They often come seeking relief from overwhelming emotions, self-destructive behaviors, or unhealthy patterns, while also wanting to understand how these patterns developed and how to create something different. They are looking for more than just symptom reduction; they want clarity, self-trust, and practical tools for building a life aligned with their values, goals, and authentic selves. My approach is integrative and tailored to each client’s unique needs. I draw from family systems, psychodynamic, narrative, cognitive-behavioral (CBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), and solution-focused therapies to provide a multi-faceted approach that combines insight, emotional awareness, and practical strategies. In family systems and psychodynamic work, I help clients explore how relational and historical patterns influence current struggles, emphasizing awareness of dynamics within families, past relationships, and internal systems. IFS helps clients understand and cultivate compassion for the different “parts” of themselves that influence emotions, beliefs, and behaviors. CBT and solution-focused interventions provide concrete, actionable strategies to disrupt unhelpful patterns, manage distressing symptoms, and create measurable change. Narrative therapy helps clients re-author the stories they tell themselves, cultivating empowerment and a sense of agency in their lives. With experience across intensive outpatient programs (IOP), partial hospitalization programs (PHP), and residential settings, I bring both breadth and depth to my work. I have guided clients through complex mental health challenges in structured settings while also providing individualized, outpatient care focused on personal growth, relational insight, and real-world application. Whether someone is struggling with chronic anxiety, depression, grief, relational conflict, trauma, or patterns of avoidance and self-sabotage, I help them move beyond insight alone to actionable strategies that foster resilience, emotional regulation, and lasting behavioral change. I work best with clients who are motivated to explore both the “why” and the “how” of their experiences. This may include understanding the