LPCC, 26 years of experience
New to Grow
I am a licensed professional clinical counselor and have worked in the mental health field for over 25 years. I would love the opportunity to work with you in achieving your personal growth goals. I use an eclectic approach, pulling from several evidence-based practices, thinking that you cannot have too many tools in a therapeutic toolbox, trying to tailor my approach to the individual needs of each client. I try to help folks think and challenge themselves to find their own solutions for personal growth. I offer a wealth of information from the knowledge and experience I have gained over the years working with preadolescents throughout adulthood. I have experience with mood disorders, anxiety disorders, trauma disorders, attachment issues, substance use disorders, inattention, impulsivity, and much more. Many of my clients find me warm, empathetic, down-to-earth, witty, knowledgeable, and able to understand life from their perspectives. I have often been compared with one of their loved ones, feeling heard, valued, supported, and understood as they have opened up the most sacred part of their lives, sharing their own personal story.
I usually spend the first session with a client getting to know them, trying to help them identify their identified needs and goals for treatment, and come up with some type of initial treatment plan to move forward in their care.
I see my communication style as an influencer. I can be outgoing, enthusiastic, personable, persuasive, lively, relationship-oriented oriented and optimistic. I can be direct and assertive, expressing my thoughts clearly and concisely. I also actively listen to understand others' perspectives and provide constructive feedback. I adapt my communication style to ensure others feel seen, heard, valued, and understood. I do use a lot of open-ended questions and emotional processing to help clients identify their thoughts and feelings and engage in insight building to help clients hone in on their treatment goals. Then we discuss and develop a plan of interventions to help them achieve their treatment goals. I do like to check in with them weekly on how they are doing and to see if they think they are making progress towards their individualized goals. If something is not working, then I strategize with clients, looking into alternative interventions and adjusting the plan as needed.
I like working with clients from preadolescents through adulthood, from varied walks of life who are wanting personal growth, interested in learning some new coping skills, motivated to find solutions to the areas of life that they are struggling with, and open to maybe looking at things from new perspectives. I think I can be a very supportive listener as well as a good life coach, providing interventions from evidence-based practices and psychoeducation on many topics to give you the tools you need to work toward your personal goals.
I will help clients to begin to recognize how their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors impact their life and contribute to their identified problems. I will help clients begin to identify negative thinking patterns that impact their behaviors and perpetuate problems. I will support clients in developing strategies to change negative thinking patterns and to implement coping skills to manage stressors and symptoms to improve their quality of life.
I will help clients learn to identify their attachment style and the impact on their relationships. I will help clients learn to explore how their attachment style developed with early caregivers and help them identify attachment patterns that impact current relationships to help them develop secure and trusting relationships with others.
I will integrate spiritual practices, such as prayer and bible reading, into evidenced based practices to support holistic healing from a Christian worldview.
I will help clients learn to manage intense emotions, improve relationships and live more balanced lives by helping them practice mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation techniques and improve interpersonal effectiveness.
I will utilize various evidenced-based practices tailored to my clients' needs to support their journey of healing and recovery. I will attempt to adjust my approach as my client's progress and needs evolve during the course of therapy.