(she/her)
New to Grow
I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who is passionate about working with women navigating motherhood, mother wounds, generational trauma, and the emotional weight of being the one who holds everything together. The clients I connect most with are high-functioning, high-achieving women who've been the eldest daughter, the family translator, the project manager — at home, at work, in their relationships. You're capable. You're competent. And you're tired in a way that goes deeper than sleep. Therapy with me is collaborative, grounded, and steady. We move at a pace that supports actually feeling things, not just describing them, while building tools that make change feel sustainable in your real life.
The very first session together will always be the intake session. That is the session where I am gathering information about a client and building rapport and trust. I will ask questions that feel invasive and uncomfortable at the surface, but I always offer up the option of a client being able to choose who they want the intake to be guided. Building trust and rapport is important to me and I do that by showing up for clients consistently, so a set schedule for therapy moving forward may be discussed. We will explore availability options to ensure both schedules are aligned with one another to get the most of our time together. I offer up an individualized approach to clients centering their experiences and histories. Each client is unique, and my experience in health care, education, foster care, private practice, academia, and the nonprofit sectors have all contributed to my clinical skills related to being able to collaborate and solve multifaceted problems. The very first session may feel like a probing session; however, gathering the most information about a client helps guide the work overall.
I am able to approach sensitive topics with delicacy that allows clients to feel heard and feel as if their stories hold much value. My approach to therapy is rooted in evidenced-based skills and practices and empowerment theory to guide people toward feeling gratified, powerful and in control again.
I help high-achieving women step onto the other side of trauma, boundary issues and relationship strain. Relationship strain, toxic habits, and mother wounds often go unprocessed causing a significant amount of stress, overwhelm, and feelings of depression that travels and seeps into other areas of their lives. Are you a woman who has found themselves in the midst of having to navigate unprocessed trauma or grief from having to survive toxic romantic partners or relationships? Have you done an audit on your life and discovered that there are themes driving you to repeat the same habits and cycles? It may be time to heal those areas. I help women by creating a space for them to process their prolonged sadness, feelings of disappointment, grief, loss, depression, overwhelm, shame, and guilt related to unprocessed trauma, boundary issues, and toxic relationships.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I utilize CBT in therapy sessions to offer clients up the space to process emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in response to triggering events. Those triggering events can look like grief and loss, battling some internal challenging mother wounds, work demands, parenting demands, interpersonal conflict and so much more. CBT is used in session to get to the core of what may be coming up for clients and it is a modality I use to build awareness in session.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
I use DBT in session for clients struggling with personality disorders. DBT is a skills-based modality used for clients interested in more concrete skills to use when they are experiencing an activating event or when they amongst the presence of a trigger. DBT is great for clients who struggle with setting boundaries and advocating for self. It is also helpful for individuals who may self-identify themselves as people-pleasers. Interpersonal effectiveness is one of the core foundations of learning how to practice skills that organically result in healthier relationships.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
ACT is a therapeutic modality I use with individuals who may be experiencing any form of grief and loss. Grief and loss can come by way of a romantic breakup, losing a job, or a life transition that impacts the mood and overall wellness of an individual. I use ACT to authentically help clients to become more fused with accepting challenges and finding ways to live with those challenges verses the "get through", "get over" approach.
Psychoeducation
I offer psychoeducation to individuals looking to expand their knowledge on how to develop and master coping skills and/or how to navigate systems when barriers are present. I have 4+ years working with Veterans at the VAMC and offer good insight into how to navigate health care systems and other government funded or government prominent systems that directly impact individuals.
Motivational Interviewing
I use Motivation Interviewing, MI, during session when a client has explicitly identified a goal they would like to work on in session. I also use MI with the substance use population. Instead of subscribing to individuals how important it is to stop or reduce their substance use, I offer up a more individualized approach that focuses on the client's desires and not my own. MI helps to reduce the potential for therapy to centered around hierarchies.