Licensed to practice in 5 states and accepts 9 insurances. Specializes in Trauma and PTSD, Sexual Abuse, Burnout and 10 more.
(she/her)
New to Grow
Let's reduce feelings of overwhelm, together. I am a Doctor of Social Work, trauma specialized, and clinically licensed in DC, VA, SC, RI and IN as a social worker and substance use disorder therapist serving children, teens, and adults (mandated and non-mandated). We can focus on anger, feelings of hopelessness, overwhelm, panic, grief, always thinking, people pleasing, holding guilt and shame, inability to focus, nightmares, and so many other thoughts, feelings, experiences, and emotions that result from the environment around us. We can really lean into substance use and the agonizing cycle of it all. I am nationally certified in TF-CBT (ages 3-18), and CPT and PE trained for adults with PTSD. Additionally, you can receive mindfulness-based, somatic integration, and a holistic lens to examine your needs via my 11 years’ experience and an additional master's in integrative health coaching plus 20 years’ experience in therapeutic design, so we can look together at social and environmental problem and solution spaces based upon your needs. I've also worked for several years in urban public school systems, so can help students, caregivers, and educators navigating school-based stress. I am culturally humble and honor intersectionality. Thank YOU for reading about how we can partner to increase your feelings of hope and wellness.
After a client leaves their first session, my hope is they will depart feeling empowered. They will most likely feel vulnerable too - which is very common. Equally they can feel equipped with actions steps to bring into their home and life spaces that can help start their healing processes. Clients can complete session knowing they were in a non-judgmental space with a therapist happy to see them and who will be working diligently on their treatment planning to ensure it continues to meet their ever-evolving growth throughout our therapeutic processes.
Some patients have told me that I have heard them, really heard them, for the first time in their lives. This approach comes from care, cultural humility, curiosity, and a never-ending focus on knowing how important your time is and that you are here asking for my expertise and services. I honor that time the best that I can. I also have a vast number of academic and professional experiences that I bring to you, and it allows us to try on many hats, evidence-based practices, and service styles to find a best treatment plan pathway for you.
My ideal client is one who decides to enlist me as their partner. You are in the driver's seat and I am thankful you are here. The work will not always be linear. We have adapted to our crisis and circumstances and now we will work together to regain some energy, hope, and forward movement. A Wolof proverb "The split tree still grows." As well, "Every flower must grow through dirt" ( Laurie Jean Sennott)....Let it be spring time for YOU.
In all of our sessions, whether for adult or youth, my work for you is grounded in a strengths-based approach-whether we are working towards reducing anxiety, increasing sobriety, or decreasing feelings of burnout, depression, or hopelessness for example. You are capable and have skills, attributes, and resourcefulness that we will tap into together to build realistic treatment approaches that allow you to feel empowered and to feel hopeful in your path forward.
As a nationally certified trauma focused cognitive behavior therapy (TFCBT) provider I am honored to utilize this gold standard child and adolescent PTSD intervention for your child. This manualized treatment will be explained, by me to you, and we will walk this journey together helping your child work to reduce PTSD symptomology and increase their confidence in communicating while feeling heard and seen to promote healing. As a cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and prolonged exposure (PE) trained clinician, adult clients will partner with me and choose which modality feels more comfortable to begin processing traumatic events and PTSD symptomology. We will honor and move with your experience-the emotions and unbearable thoughts to reduce symptomology-in partnership.
As a generalist, I used combined and personalized methodology to best suit your individual needs. Solution focused therapy can succinctly create a brief treatment framework where we can articulate and focus on one goal with forward movement, not psychotherapy, to help build skills and self-efficacy in a life domain. This therapy type is helpful to increase facets of wellness, reduce tangible life stressors, or decrease test or presentation anxiety, for example. I commonly also use several other modalities to include somatic integration, am mindfulness trained, and regularly incorporate DBT, CBT, and ACT. I will happily explain facets of these modalities to you.