LCSW, 7 years of experience
I have 30 plus years of experience in the mental health field. I am passionate about partnering with you to establish goals and making a plan to reach them. My interests include trauma, younger adults, queer, trans and genderqueer people, veterans, adults scapegoated as children, moral injury, Flash Technique, trauma as a social justice issue, collective trauma, and racial trauma.
We will talk about confidentiality. We will review your intake paperwork. There will be an opportunity to discuss anything else you would like for me to know. We will discuss your goals, needs, and preferences. We will start with coping skills, particularly if you are to be doing trauma work. You probably have more coping skills than you know, but maybe haven't thought of them this way.
I am an intent listener. I use my own curiosity to wonder "What would your life look like if..." I am not going to dictate to you what you should do, rather I will help you process your experiences and explore options. I have a mind that is good at connecting yesterday's trauma to today's thought patterns, emotions, and situations.
You are intellectually curious and reflective, and strive to have ever better insight into yourself.
Flash is a quick-acting treatment for trauma which does not require delving into the traumatic memory or the related disturbing emotions. Developed as an adjunct to EMDR, this evidence-based practice is safe and effective at reducing distress. Follow-up studies show that its effects are long-lasting.
Narrative therapy traditionally involves the patient telling their story, but on a deeper level it can involve exploration of the narratives that we tell ourselves about us, our perceived limitations which have been holding us back. Narrative therapy can ask, "what if" and dare to look beyond the self-assumptions we've long carried. Narrative therapy can reach for new narratives to reach the goals and dreams of the client.
My first concern when working with genderqueer, trans, or nonbinary clients, is safety. The client must feel safe, and in order to do that, I must create an environment where they can be authentically themselves. I have been working with genderqueer, trans, and nonbinary clients for seven years as a therapist, and much longer in other contexts.