Trauma-Focused CBT

Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT): My Experience and Approach Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is an evidence-based treatment that helps children, teens, and caregivers heal from the impact of trauma. I use TF-CBT with clients who have experienced events such as abuse, neglect, domestic violence exposure, accidents, medical trauma, grief/loss, or other overwhelming experiences that continue to affect emotions, behavior, relationships, or daily functioning. My approach is warm, structured, and collaborative. TF-CBT is not about forcing you to relive trauma before you feel ready. We move at a pace that feels emotionally safe, and we build coping skills first so you have tools to manage anxiety, intrusive thoughts, strong emotions, and body-based stress responses. I focus on helping clients feel more in control, more confident, and less “stuck” in survival mode. In TF-CBT, we typically work through three main phases: Stabilization and skill-building: We strengthen coping skills (relaxation, grounding, emotional regulation), improve sleep and stress management, and build communication and support systems. Trauma processing: When you’re ready, we gently and respectfully process the trauma in a way that reduces its emotional intensity. This may include creating a trauma narrative, identifying trauma-related beliefs (like “It was my fault” or “I’m not safe”), and replacing them with more balanced, empowering thoughts. Integration and growth: We strengthen safety planning, rebuild trust and confidence, support healthy boundaries, and help you return to life with more hope and resilience. For caregivers, TF-CBT often includes involvement to help improve support at home, reduce family stress, and strengthen the caregiver-child relationship. For teens and adults, we tailor the approach to your needs and comfort level, always prioritizing consent, choice, and emotional safety. My goal is to help you experience relief without feeling rushed or overwhelmed. Trauma can change how the brain and body respond to the world, but healing is possible. TF-CBT provides a clear, supportive roadmap for recovery, and I’m here to walk alongside you through that process.

Humanistic

Humanistic Therapy: My Experience and Approach Humanistic therapy is a person-centered approach that focuses on your lived experience, your strengths, and your capacity to grow and heal. In my work, I use a humanistic foundation with many clients because it creates a safe, respectful space where you feel genuinely heard, understood, and supported, not judged or “fixed.” This approach is especially helpful when you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, disconnected from yourself, or unsure of what you want next. My style is warm, collaborative, and deeply client-centered. I view you as the expert on your own life. My role is to help you slow down, make sense of what you’re carrying, and reconnect with your values, needs, and inner wisdom. I focus on building a strong therapeutic relationship because I believe healing happens when people feel emotionally safe enough to be real. In sessions, my humanistic approach often includes: A supportive, nonjudgmental environment: I provide acceptance and respect so you can explore thoughts and feelings honestly, even the ones you’ve been avoiding or feel ashamed of. Empathic reflection and validation: I help you name what you’re feeling and make meaning of it, so emotions feel less confusing and more manageable. Exploring identity, values, and purpose: We look at what matters most to you, what you want your life to stand for, and what’s been pulling you away from that. Strengthening self-trust and self-compassion: We work on reducing harsh self-criticism and building a kinder, more grounded relationship with yourself. Supporting growth and change: Humanistic therapy isn’t passive, we still focus on goals. The difference is we build change from the inside out, based on who you are and what you need. I often integrate humanistic therapy with practical skill-building when it’s helpful (like grounding tools, communication strategies, or boundary work), but I always return to the core belief of this approach: you deserve to be treated with dignity, and you have the capacity to heal when you feel seen, supported, and empowered. My goal is for you to leave therapy feeling more connected to yourself, more confident in your choices, and more able to show up in your life with clarity, courage, and self-respect.

Family Therapy

Family Therapy: My Experience and Approach Family therapy is a collaborative form of counseling that helps families strengthen relationships, improve communication, and reduce ongoing conflict or stress. I use family therapy with many different family structures, including blended families, single-parent households, co-parenting situations, multigenerational families, and families navigating transitions like divorce, relocation, grief, illness, or changes in a child’s behavior or mental health. My approach is structured, supportive, and non-blaming. In family therapy, I don’t focus on finding “the problem person.” Instead, we look at patterns, how everyone is interacting, what’s working, what’s not, and what each family member needs to feel heard, respected, and safe. I create a balanced space where every voice matters, including children and teens, while also supporting healthy boundaries and appropriate roles within the family system. In sessions, my family therapy approach often includes: Improving communication and reducing conflict: I teach and coach skills like active listening, reflective responding, “I-statements,” and respectful ways to disagree without escalation. Understanding family patterns: We explore cycles such as arguing, shutting down, blaming, or rescuing, and work on changing these patterns so the family can feel more connected and less reactive. Strengthening emotional connection: I help families increase empathy, repair hurt feelings, and rebuild trust through healthier interactions and clearer expectations. Parenting and co-parenting support: When relevant, we focus on consistent parenting strategies, boundaries, and teamwork, especially when children are acting out, struggling emotionally, or adjusting to changes. Problem-solving and goal setting: Family therapy is practical. We identify specific goals (like fewer blow-ups, better routines, more cooperation, improved respect) and create a plan for change that fits your family’s real life. I also integrate trauma-informed care when needed, meaning we consider how past experiences, stress, or loss may be impacting the family’s current functioning. My role is to guide the process, help each person communicate more effectively, and support the family in building healthier ways of relating. My goal is for family therapy to feel like a place where things finally make sense, where everyone can speak honestly without things falling apart, and where your family learns tools that lead to lasting change both in and out of session.

Solution Focused Brief Treatment

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT): My Experience and Approach Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is a goal-oriented, strengths-based approach that focuses on what you want to be different and how to get there in practical, realistic steps. I use SFBT often with clients who feel stuck, overwhelmed, or pressured for change and want therapy that is structured, encouraging, and focused on progress rather than spending extensive time revisiting the past. My approach with SFBT is collaborative, hopeful, and action-centered. I believe you already have skills, resilience, and past successes we can build on, even if it doesn’t feel that way right now. In our work together, I help you identify what’s already working, clarify your goals, and strengthen strategies that move you toward the life you want. In sessions, SFBT typically includes: Clear goal-setting: We define what “better” looks like in specific, measurable ways so progress is easier to recognize. Exploring strengths and resources: We highlight your coping skills, support systems, values, and past successes as tools for change. Finding exceptions: We look for moments when the problem is less intense or more manageable and identify what you did differently in those moments. Practical next steps: We create small, doable action steps you can practice between sessions to build momentum. Future-focused questions: I use tools like the miracle question and scaling questions to help clarify direction, track progress, and build motivation in a nonjudgmental way. SFBT can be helpful for concerns like stress, anxiety, relationship challenges, work/life balance, motivation, life transitions, parenting support, and building healthier habits. It can also be blended with other approaches when needed, especially if deeper emotional processing or trauma work is part of the picture. My goal is for you to leave each session with greater clarity, a stronger sense of hope, and at least one concrete step you can take right away. SFBT is about progress, not perfection, and we focus on building solutions that fit who you are and the life you’re living.

Narrative

Narrative Therapy: My Experience and Approach Narrative therapy is an approach that helps you separate who you are from what you’re going through. Many people come to therapy carrying heavy stories about themselves such as “I’m not enough,” “I always mess things up,” “I’m broken,” or “This is just who I am.” In narrative work, we look at how those stories formed, what has reinforced them, and how they may be limiting your choices, confidence, and peace. Then we work together to strengthen a more accurate, empowering story that fits your values and lived experience. My approach with narrative therapy is collaborative, respectful, and deeply empowering. I don’t see you as the problem. I see the problem as the problem, and you as a person with strengths, meaning, and the ability to reshape your relationship with what’s been happening. I also take a trauma-informed view, meaning we pay attention to how life experiences, relationships, culture, and systems may have shaped the stories you’ve been told or have learned to tell yourself. In sessions, narrative therapy often includes: Externalizing the problem: We give the problem a name and identify how it shows up (for example: Anxiety as “the Alarm,” Depression as “the Fog,” Trauma as “the Shadow”). This helps reduce shame and creates space for change. Mapping the effects: We explore how the problem has affected your emotions, relationships, work, parenting, and sense of identity, and what it has tried to convince you is true about you. Identifying values and preferred identity: We uncover what matters most to you (safety, connection, freedom, peace, purpose) and how you want to show up in your life and relationships. Finding unique outcomes: We look for times you resisted the problem or when the problem had less influence, even small moments, and we highlight what those moments say about your strength and character. Re-authoring your story: We build a new narrative grounded in your resilience, choices, boundaries, and growth, not just the pain you’ve survived. Narrative therapy can be especially helpful for anxiety, depression, trauma recovery, grief, life transitions, relationship concerns, identity exploration, and healing from shame or self-criticism. My goal is for you to leave therapy feeling more ownership of your life story, more compassion for yourself, and more confidence in the direction you’re choosing.