LCSW, 6 years of experience
New to Grow
Hi, I’m Celest! My background includes experience supporting people navigating complex psychological conditions and working in hospice care, both of which deeply shaped my approach to therapy. I bring an empathetically motivated and existential lens to our time together, using emotionally focused and experiential techniques to help you connect with your inner world. My style is eclectic, drawing from humanistic, feminist, and narrative frameworks- among others- to meet you where you are. I’d love to get to know you and explore whether we’re a good fit. If so, we’ll begin building a safe, grounded space where you can process your experiences, name your feelings, and reflect on your unique worldview.
In our first session, we’ll spend time exploring what brought you here—your experiences, concerns, and what you’re hoping to gain from therapy. That may take up most of our time, and that’s completely okay. Before we wrap up, we’ll briefly go over what to expect from the therapy process and set an intention or goal to carry with you between sessions and into our next meeting.
My time working with individuals receiving hospice care profoundly shaped me as a person. I got comfortable going deep, sitting with pain, conflicting emotions, and life’s big questions: What does it all mean? How do we find our place in the world while staying true to ourselves? Can I have relationships that truly fulfill me? Do people really see me? These are transformative questions that many people long to ask, yet few spaces truly allow for them. I strive to be someone who can hold that space—with presence, authenticity, and compassion.
If you are considering me as a therapist, you may be a person who has experienced some adversity, heartache, or even trauma. These experiences have shaped you for better and for worse and you are wondering what life will be like going forward as you start to process and feel better. You may find yourself asking deep questions about the meaning of life, how to live authentically and find your place.
Within an eclectic approach, I pull in cognitive behavioral principles to help process experiences and how that shapes thoughts, emotions and behaviors. We may talk about ideas like cognitive distortions and finding evidence for distressing thoughts to promote self awareness and coping.
Trauma informed care means that together we carry the heartache and the sense of danger that might linger in the body and mind following a single or series of traumatic events. That sense of danger can drastically impact all aspects of life, including relationships, work, self care, and moving forward.
Often not discussed is how our thought and feelings about existence and what it means to be alive influences our sense or lack thereof of being okay in the world. For those who want to go there I can hold space for those thoughts, questions, and curiosities. This may lead to discussion about spirituality, mysticism, or religious beliefs and values. This may also be a space to begin to process religious wounds.
Awareness of our emotions and how we experience them can be a great starting place to begin healing within and with the important people in our life. It’s about finding and transforming stuck emotions to then move through the world more grounded.
Strengths based treatment simply means we use your unique strengths, interests, experiences, and resources to help meet your goals.