LMFT, 18 years of experience
Frequently rebooked
I have over 15 years of experience working with individuals, couples and families. I follow a relational and strength-based approach to counseling. It is also important to me that clients feel treated like a whole person with intersecting identities that are all valued and supported. I believe that when someone feels seen and heard, they will often discover more about themselves, those they care about, and the world around them. I think we are complex beings, and I love collaboratively looking at things from multiple perspectives and asking questions like what's helping you and what's getting in your way or what was the best part and the most challenging part of your week?
When we first meet, I will get to know you by exploring multiples areas of your life and what may be impacting who you are at this time in your life. Within that, it is important to identifying your strengths and struggles, what is going right that you don't want to change (yeah, that's important, too), and what feels most pressing and important right now. I love to ask, "If you fast forwarded your life to 3-6 months from now, how would you know that counseling helped you? How would you feel, think, behave differently that would let you know positive change had happened?" That helps give us an image of what we are going to working toward.
My greatest strengths as a clinician are my curiosity, my kindness, and the investment I make into helping others grow. I care about getting to know you, and I will handle your stories with care. I also care enough to nudge you in the direction of positive change. I am good at simultaneously accepting you as you are while also offering invitations to grow and letting you know you do not have to do that alone.
I work with clients who are coping with stress, anxiety, and sadness related to life changes, being overwhelmed, or just wanting more out of life. We build a healing relationship that helps create change for the better. I am particularly interested in working with people who want help in carving out time for their own health and well-being. Through our work together clients learn to manage their thoughts and feelings better in order to live a more fulfilling life. Often times this means identifying what is most important and aligning your life to reflect your interests and values. Sometimes there are extra obstacles in the way like major life transitions, chronic illness, or habits that have been hard to let go. Those things need space to be heard and honored. AND, we can work together to move through them to a better place. I am experienced in helping to find reasonable and attainable ways to navigate those challenges.
In treating the whole person in therapy, it is important to learn about, honor, and support their intersecting identities.
Elements I like to use within Solution Focused Therapy are to create some structure to sessions by starting with a check-in like highs and lows since last session and closing sessions with reflection on take aways from the conversation and steps the client will take in the time until the next session. I also find SFT helpful in goal-setting by asking clients if they pressed fast forward on their life 3-6 months, how would they know therapy was helpful. What would be different in the thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and relationships. This helps clients have direction and intention in their therapy work.
Everyone has experienced trauma so we as therapists need to be informed and practice awareness around the signs and impacts of trauma in their clients and in themselves. I have experience not only providing trauma informed care but also providing trainings for non-mental health professionals about being trauma informed care.