(she/her)
I am a marriage & family therapist and life coach. Life coaching asks questions of "how to” and examines lessons learned along the path to achievement. It is a forward-moving, action-based endeavor, setting clear goals and strategizing for measurable results. In therapy, feelings, thoughts, and self-exploration of internal conflicts assume most of the focus. I have experience working with individuals, couples, and families, and I have worked extensively with the LGBTQ+ population. My approach is integrative, experiential, and emotionally focused, but I like to incorporate components of solution-focused and narrative therapy as well.
I spend a good bit of time getting to know my clients and letting them get to know me. I believe that building a strong therapeutic alliance is very important to the work that we will do. As we talk, I learn about my clients' history, what brought them to therapy, their goals for therapy, and I gather information that is going to help with the way that I approach my work.
I believe that I am a good, nonjudgmental, open, and curious therapist. My clients say they feel comfortable with me, they feel seen and heard, and they often say that they have told me things they have never told anyone else. I don't give advice or try to solve problems for my clients. I help my clients feel strong enough be ready to make decisions about their lives.
I love working with couples, whether they are heterosexual, same-sex, consensually nonmonogamous, or any other preference. I work with individuals, ages 18+. I have worked with many LGBTQ+ couples and individuals, but my work is not limited to that population. I work with individuals/couples who are dealing with grief/loss. Many of the couples I see want to work on their communication skills and building/rebuilding trust. Individuals often want to work on anxiety, depression, grief/loss, and relationship issues.
Integrative
Integrative therapy involves techniques from multiple therapeutic orientations to treat clients' unique issues. Integrative therapists believe that tailoring the therapy to the individual achieves the most significant effects.
Couples Counseling
Couples therapy helps couples understand the impact their words and actions have on each other and to learn how to approach conflict in ways that are productive and respectful, turning conflicts into conversations is at the forefront of this type of therapy. I work with couples/relationships of all orientations, including heterosexual, LGBTQIA+, consensually nonmonogamous, etc.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is a humanistic, evidence-based approach to psychotherapy, drawing primarily from attachment theory to facilitate the creation of secure, vibrant connection with self and others. Rooted in the science of emotions and attachment, EFT helps clients identify and transform the negative processing and interaction patterns that create distress. It’s effective in treating individuals (EFIT), couples (EFCT), and families (EFFT), addressing a wide range of issues from marital distress to individual anxiety and trauma.
Gottman method
Interventions are designed to help couples strengthen their relationships in three primary areas: friendship, conflict management, and creation of shared meaning. Couples learn to replace negative conflict patterns with positive interactions and to repair past hurts. Interventions designed to increase closeness and intimacy are used to improve friendship, deepen emotional connection, and create changes that enhances the couple's shared goals.
Imago Relationship Theory
Introducing a structured dialogue into the relationship is a key recommendation of Imago therapy. This method involves designated turns as the sender and the receiver. The sender articulates their thoughts, and the receiver listens without interruption. Subsequently, the receiver mirrors what they've heard