I am a licensed clinical social worker, and have been working with people who wanted to make some changes in their lives for more than 25 years. Together we've focused on the variety of challenges they were experiencing - depression, anxiety, family or work stressors, relational and communication issues. I also work with people who have experienced trauma, or who have chronic medical conditions, as well as those who are in a difficult situation, or who have lost someone close to them. My counseling style is conversational and interactive, and incorporates a cognitive-emotional-behavioral, solution-focused, body-based approach. We work at a speed comfortable for you, and one that respects your values, your culture and beliefs, your goals. Everyone deserves support whether they are working to make changes in their life or deal with changes they didn't choose. If you've identified some areas in your life that might benefit from your attention and intervention, I'd like to work with and support you, too.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
Together we will identify the challenges you face, as well as your goals - where you want your life to be a month, 6 months, a year from now. Then we'll identify options and strategies you can use to get there! You'll also get a bit more understanding of what you're currently facing, but with an "actions I can take right now" approach. There will always be suggestions for homework!
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
Anxious and depressed thoughts and feelings often derail the behaviors we want to change, and many times are intensified by our past unhappy experiences. I've been helping clients for over 25 years learn how to de-intensify emotions, to use thoughts and feelings as messages describing past and current experiences as well as guides to identify needed changes . The clients I work with have experienced grief/loss, PTSD, Mood Disorders, Chronic Health Conditions, or might be in transitional periods in their life - all of which can cause a good deal of stress and make it difficult to function day to day.