Licensed to practice in Florida and accepts 9 insurances. Specializes in Anger Management, Couples Counseling, Self Esteem and 6 more.
New to Grow
I'm a licensed clinical social worker with over 15 years of experience. I help individuals move through conflict. This includes the conflict we carry within ourselves, and the conflict that shows up in our closest relationships. My goal is to help you find your way back to connection and clarity. My approach is strength-based and solution-focused. I'm less interested in what's "wrong" with you. I'm more interested in the pattern you're stuck in, so we can work together to change it. I also work with couples navigating disconnection or repeated conflict. I bring my own experience with personal growth work and marriage into this work. I know firsthand that even steady people and strong relationships get caught in patterns they didn't choose on purpose. Whether you're coming to sessions on your own or with a partner, I believe most struggles aren't really about the surface issue. They're about a story. Sometimes it's the story you tell yourself. Sometimes it's the story two people tell about the same moment. Either way, that story has stopped matching what's actually happening, and the safety underneath it has gotten lost. In our sessions, I'll help you slow the pattern down. Once you can see it clearly, it stops running the show. I don't pathologize the people I work with. I believe you already have more capacity for change and connection than the current struggle is letting you access. My job is to help you find your way back to it. If you're exhausted from repeating the same cycle, in your own head, with a partner, or both, I'd be glad to work with you.
In our first session, my goal is to understand you and your greatest hopes in working with me. This is about more than the problem you're presenting with. We'll spend time on your history, what's been weighing on you, and what patterns you'd like to shift. If you're coming in as a couple, we'll also talk about what a typical conflict looks like for you both. I'll ask what you've already tried. I'll ask questions from a few angles. That includes your story, your partner's story, and the "our story" underneath both. Either way, you won't need polished answers. You don't need a tidy version of events. This session is about getting oriented. We'll cover what's been happening, what's at stake for you, and what you're hoping is possible. By the end, you'll have a clearer sense of what we'll be working on together. I'll also share how we would approach it together.
My approach stands out in three ways. First, I don't just offer general support. I help you identify the specific pattern that keeps pulling you back into the same struggle. Then I help you interrupt it. This pattern might show up within yourself. It might show up between you and a partner. Secondly, I try to make space where people can actually say what they need to. Without trying to fix it right away or deciding if it is good or bad. Most people seem to think they are going to get some kind of diagnosis when they show up. But they usually end up knowing themselves a bit better instead. With couples it can be the same kind of thing. They come in ready to defend how they see it. It ends up being that there are three sides to the story all along. That part is easy to miss at first. Third, I hold all of this without judgment. I've never worked with a client, or a couple, where someone was simply "the problem." I won't treat you that way. My job is to help you feel less alone in this. I also want to give you something concrete to do differently, not just something to talk about.
My ideal client is someone who is ready to look at their lives honestly, even when that's uncomfortable. They don't need to have the right words yet. They just need to be willing to show up. I enjoy working with teens, ages 13 to 17, who are learning to manage their emotions. They may be struggling with anger, anxiety, identity, or family conflict. Often they've been told what to do differently. What they need is space to figure out why. I work well with adults, ages 18 to 64, who feel stuck. This might show up in a relationship, a career stressor, or an internal cycle of self-criticism. They're often seem high-functioning on the outside. Underneath, they're tired of repeating the same struggle. Additionally, I also work with older adults, 65 and over, who are navigating major life transitions. This could be retirement, loss, health changes, or shifting family roles. They bring a lifetime of experience. Sometimes they just need a space to process what that experience has cost them, or taught them. Finally, I work particularly well with couples who find themselves caught in painful cycles of conflict, hurt, and emotional disconnection. Often, the love and commitment are still there, but somewhere along the way, they have lost the ability to truly reach each other. Beneath the arguments, defensiveness, and silence are two people who may still deeply care but no longer know how to feel safe, heard, or understood with one another. I help couples understand what is happening beneath the conflict, and begin rebuilding the emotional connection they thought they had lost. Across all of these clients, the common thread is willingness. My ideal client wants to understand their life, not just manage its symptoms. And most importantly, they're ready to do the work between sessions.
I believe you already have skills and resources, even if they're hard to see right now. In our work, I pay attention to what's already working, not just what's broken. We build on those strengths instead of starting from scratch. This helps you feel capable, not just fixed.
Change is easier when it comes from you, not when it's pushed on you. I won't tell you what to do or lecture you about what needs to change. Instead, I'll ask questions that help you get clear on your own reasons for change. I'll also help you work through the part of you that isn't sure yet. That mix of wanting change and resisting it is normal. We'll work with it, not against it.
Rather than spending most of our time on what's going wrong, we'll spend time on what "better" would actually look like for you. Then we'll figure out the smallest next step to get there. This keeps therapy practical. You'll leave sessions with something concrete, not just insight.