LMFT, 37 years of experience
Greetings. I am an experienced, enthusiastic therapist who truly believes in our ability to heal. We can increase and build upon your capacity for joy and meaningful relationships with self and others by creating a safe space together in which to work. I am here to serve you by learning about your individual needs, experiences, beliefs and goals as the basis of our work together. I am eager to help you to discover what works for you and assist you in letting go of what has not worked in the past. I think we oftentimes listen more to what we say to ourselves than what others say to us yet many times that voice within us are old tapes from the past. Let's take a compassionate view together to create the changes you seek in your life.
Starting therapy can be anxiety provoking! In the first session, we will focus on establishing a safe and welcoming space. We will review any questions/concerns you may have about how therapy works while addressing any urgent needs you may have. We will talk about your goals and expectations for therapy and review what has worked and not worked in past therapy if you have previously had treatment. I will encourage you to share your strengths and hopes.
My experience in working as a team with clients and utilizing your existing strengths and resources is a key component in my approach. I am compassionate and open to learning from you how best to help you. I use a logic-based approach by co-creating measurable, attainable goals, reviewing treatment plans and regularly evaluating how interventions are working. I have witnessed many clients benefit from compassionate, evidenced based therapeutic approaches and am eager to share those methods with you.
Change is not always easy and having a trusted, kind person to guide and support you through this process is what I provide using various modalities that match you. If you are experiencing anxiety, negative self-talk, difficult life transitions and less than satisfactory relationships with others, then I am here to help you. Together we will explore ways to improve your capacity for joy by increasing your self knowledge, communication skills, and resiliency to cope with the past and present. We will set measurable goals to enhance your hope and learn coping skills to improve your overall functioning.
CBT explores the relationship between our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. By identifying them, you can learn to manage and shape them to enhance your capacity for joy and tolerance for experiences and events that you cannot change. I have a depth of experience in assisting clients in meeting this goal.
Our ability to be present in the moment can be impacted by past traumas, and attachment issues. I use Gestalt alongside narrative and other trauma informed interventions to assist clients with increasing their awareness of how they are perceiving their experiences and help with healing from negative ones to allow them to live more fully in the present. I have extensive experience with helping clients with these goals who have had many childhood traumas including being in foster care, and abused or neglected.
I believe we all heal by experiencing feeling safe, respected and cared for and about. The foundation of my work is to assist others to increase their compassion towards self and others by experiencing my compassion for them. I have found this approach also helps people work through shame and negative self-regard. Somatic and mindfulness techniques are incorporated into my practice, and I am trained and certified to teach resiliency techniques to increase your coping skills for life challenges.
I welcome the opportunity to incorporate your faith (whether you are Christian or not), if you choose, into our work together. Your spiritual beliefs can be a resource for accessing a "living faith" that aligns your values, thoughts and behaviors, and help heal from hurts.
Over the last 37 years that I have been providing counseling; I have had extensive training in a variety of therapeutic approaches and interventions that I have not listed here. My goal is to match your needs and goals with interventions that work for you and not necessarily with just one approach. I use a strength and client centered approach so that we become partners in achieving the progress you seek.