Personally, I am a mom of 3 small children who is married to a firefighter and trying to balance work, family, and personal life. I understand that life can feel like a lot at times and relate to other people who are doing the best they can! Professionally, I have always worked in education and mental health. I have taught kindergarten, junior high, intermediate grades, and focused on special education. I have also worked as a school counselor and maintain my school counselor license. In my time as a mental health therapist, I have really enjoyed working with a diverse population. I have experience working with all ages from young children to older adults, focusing on meeting each person where they are. I work with anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, and other life circumstances that people are dealing with. My main focus in sessions is to help clients feel heard and seen, creating a safe environment along the way. I am very person-centered in my approach to therapy. I believe that the client is the expert in his or her life, and I am lucky enough to get to join in on their journey for a while. I also utilize cognitive-behavioral techniques, solution-focused strategies, and other interventions to help clients achieve their goals. In addition, I am also trained in EMDR therapy and really enjoy incorporating that into sessions when appropriate.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
The goal of the first session is to build rapport and identify your needs/goals for therapy. I may ask questions about the challenges that you are having and what is leading you to come to therapy at this time. You are free to share as much or as little as you would like through these sessions - often, the development of a safe environment is important for people to open up, and that process takes time!
What treatment methods and tools do you utilize?
I am very person-centered in my approach and work to create a safe environment for the client to be open throughout the therapeutic process. I utilize many different approaches, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, solution-focused therapy, and EMDR therapy.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
I really enjoy working with clients who are open and willing to let the therapeutic process happen. My strengths as a therapist include really being able to join in the journey with my client, but still allowing them to be the expert and decision-maker of their own life. I love getting to see how skills practiced in session are transferred outside of sessions in the client's personal life and seeing the growth that happens.