LCMHC, 10 years of experience
I am a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor based in Raleigh, North Carolina. I have more than 10 years of counseling experience and have worked in private practice since 2020. I received a Master of Arts degree in Counseling from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. I also hold a Master of Education degree in School Counseling from Liberty University, located at Lynchburg, Virginia.
Our first session together is mostly spent talking about your presenting problems. I would ask questions to better understand your struggles, strengths and needs. The first session is all about building rapport and for us to get to know each other better and formulate an action plan.
My communication skills are my greatest strengths as a therapist. My personality is calm, accommodating, and personable. I provide an empathic atmosphere and want you to feel comfortable talking to me about anything, especially sensitive matters. I pride myself on actively listening to you without judgment.
My ideal client is someone who is loyal, respectful, and motivated towards reaching their goals, and one who feels safe enough to let down their guard and talk about their struggles. I hope to find the perfect solution to your problems and needs through my services.
I use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help clients experiencing grief by supporting them in accepting painful emotions, reducing avoidance, and reconnecting with their core values. ACT allows clients to honor their loss while also rebuilding a meaningful life. Through mindfulness, defusion strategies, and values-based action, clients learn to hold grief gently while moving forward a their own pace.
CBT is a structured and interactive therapy approach I use with most clients. CBT is a collaborative approach that allows clients to set their own agenda and prioritize what's most important to discuss during therapy. We often summarize and agree on homework for accountability purposes.
I have advanced training in ERP, the gold standard treatment for OCD. Over the years, I have used ERP with adolescents, young adults, and adults struggling with a wide range of OCD presentations, including contamination fears, checking behaviors, and intrusive distressing thoughts. Client's will learn to face feared situations in small manageable steps while resisting compulsions, building resilience, confidence, and freedom from OCD's grip.
I have several years of experience providing couples counseling using Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), an evidence-based approach grounded in attachment theory. In my work with couples, I help partners understand the patterns that keep them stuck, such as pursuer-withdrawer cycles-and guide them toward expressing deeper emotional needs in ways that promote safety and connection. I help couples move from conflict and disconnection toward healthier communication, stronger emotional bonds, and a renewed sense of partnership.