New to Grow
I am a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and have worked as a therapist with individuals and groups for 4 years. I specialize in anxiety, grief, and trauma. My approach includes therapies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Prolonged Exposure, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Internal Family Systems, Narriative Therapy, and Gestalt Therapy. I'm always looking to expand my approach to best support my clients. My experience has been with community mental heath, two CIRC programs, and providing short term grief therapy at the Medical Examiner's office. Each of these have provided me with greater understanding of the system of care of Philadelphia and the reality of navigating it especially when resources can be nonexistent for housing or other basic needs. My specialities in grief and trauma are two sides of the same coin - intense loss can be traumatic. This philosophy is central to how I approach supporting clients in their journey. Both need to be address to help the healing really start.
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
In my first session, my general goal is to start getting to know each other. I will share how I approach therapy and get a general idea of the subject matter you would like to work on. I will ask follow up questions to understand what's bringing you to therapy so I can best support you as we continue working together. In this process, I am beginning to build trust so that you can feel safe to express yourself in future sessions. I'm looking to have a conversation and start to understand what's been challenging.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
As a therapist, I feel my ability to be open-minded in trying to understanding my clients is a huge asset. Since I have my own lived experiences with my mental health, this provides me with compassion or empathy in supporting a client in their journey. I'm very collaborative in the sense that I want the client to identify what they want to work on and give them feedback as they make progress on their goals.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
I can best help clients who are motivated and have some self-awareness of what they need help with. I know that each person may need guidance in deepening their understanding but it helps to have some kind of foundation to build off of. Clients do not necessarily have to have therapy goals to work with me but do need to identify what's bringing them to therapy. Above all, I ask that you keep an open mind and be willing to have an honest dialogue so that we can get you feeling better in an intentional way.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
I have used this therapy since I started working full time and had previous knowledge of it. I use it as a great starting point for working on emotion regulation skills for a variety of clients. I may also use it for improving communiation and handling intense emotions.
Prolonged Exposure Therapy
I am certified in Prolonged Exposure and have used it in my practice for 9 months. I believe trauma processing can be a healthy way of addressing trauma and this technique is very effective for memories that keep coming up with intense emotions.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I'm very familiar with CBT and can help very helpful for clients to name something and understand certain behavior patterns in themselves and others that are ineffective.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
EFT is at the center of my practice. I use it as a guide to put together how our emotions, behaviors, and beliefs are interconnected. I especially believe in destigmatizing anger as a healthy way of expressing ourselves. Let's taking away judgment when we express anger.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
I believe parts work or IFS can be helpful in organization grief and trauma that stems from experiences when we did not have words to express our feelings. I'm newer to using IFS but I believe it can be very effective when used appropriately.