I am currently accepting new clients via teletherapy. I have been practicing as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Florida for the past 22 years and am also a Licensed Therapist in Virginia, largely with a focus in the areas of depression, anxiety, thought disturbance, addiction, emotion regulation, relationship distress, and self-esteem. I feel many of the responses we struggle with are connected to a traumatic event (or perceived trauma) from the past. I am also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and worked in the past with individuals of various ages across the Autism Spectrum. Currently, my primary focus has been in the individual/couples/relational therapy realm. I will encourage you to prioritize the areas you wish to address in therapy and tailor my approach on an individual basis. I believe in client autonomy so the areas that are addressed are the areas you want to address. I draw on several treatment modalities (including, but not limited to, Internal Family Systems, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy) to allow you to further develop your strengths and help you meet all of your treatment plan goals at a speed that works best for you. I also have completed training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy as well as the Developmental Model for Couples and integrate both of these approaches into my relational therapy practice. Overall, I help you to see that managing the stressor is more important than just managing the stress as it will allow you to cope with anything that comes your way.
The first session is a psychosocial assessment in which background information is shared to see how it may be impacting current stressors. We will look at what a successful outcome of therapy might look like and discuss how you work best from a therapy and growth perspective.
My strengths as a therapist are longevity and experience. I have been practicing for over 21 years and have gained a lot of insight on what is often underneath the mental pain many people endure. I see each person's character before their problems and prioritize the therapeutic relationship in order to confront clients in a way that is non-threatening but collaborative and focused on growth.
I have DBT training and apply prnciples of mindfulness, values, distress tolerance, emotional regulation and overall psychological flexibility in my sessions.
I have done online IFS Training and incorporate "Parts" work into my therapeutic style to help clents work internally for longer-term healing in many dfferent areas of their life.
I utilize meta-cognitive approaches in therapy to help clients balance the dilemma of areas to accept and areas to focus on changing.
I utilize elements of IFS to work with the internal experience that began from a past trauma and still lives inside of a person for longer-term healing.