(she/her)
New to Grow
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with nearly two decades of experience walking alongside people through some of life's most challenging moments. My career has taken me across multiple systems — child welfare, medical social work, vocational rehabilitation, and community mental health — and what I have carried through all of it is a deep belief that every person has the capacity for growth and healing, regardless of where they are starting from. I bring a warm, direct, and grounded presence to my work. I am not the kind of therapist who sits back and says very little- I am engaged, I ask questions, and I genuinely invest in understanding your world. At the same time, I know that the pace and direction of this work belong to you. My role is to walk alongside you, not ahead of you. I am particularly passionate about working with young adults navigating the complexities of early adulthood, as well as individuals from communities that have traditionally had limited access to culturally responsive mental health care. I understand that taking the step to reach out for support is not always easy, and I don't take lightly the trust it takes to sit across from someone and say 'I need help. Whether you are coming in with a specific goal in mind or you simply know that something needs to change and you are not quite sure where to start-I am here for that conversation
The first session is really about one thing-getting to know you. There is no pressure to have everything figured out or to arrive with a perfectly organized story of what has brought you here. However you show up is exactly right. I will start by creating space for you to share what feels most important ; what's been weighing on you, what prompted you to reach out, and what you are hoping to get out of our time together. I will ask questions along the way, not to rush the process, but because I am genuinely curious about your life, your background, and the context that has shaped who you are. Good therapy doesn't happen in a vacuum, and I want to understand your world before we start working in it. We will also spend some time talking about what therapy with me actually looks like-how I work, what you can expect between sessions, and how we will know we are moving in the right direction. I want you to leave our first session feeling like you have a clearer sense of what this process could look like for you, not more overwhelmed than when you arrived. I also want you to know that the first session is as much about you deciding if I am the right fit as it is about me learning about you. A good therapeutic relationship is built on trust and comfort, and you should never feel like you have to stay with a therapist simply because you started with them. My hope is that you leave feeling heard, respected, and cautiously optimistic about what is possible. We will take it one step at a time, together.
One of my greatest strengths as a therapist is my ability to meet people exactly where they are — without judgment, without assumption, and without a one-size-fits-all agenda. After nearly two decades of clinical work across vastly different systems and populations, I have learned that the most effective therapy is always built on a foundation of genuine human connection first and clinical technique second. I bring a rare depth of cross-system experience to my practice. Having worked in child welfare, medical settings, vocational rehabilitation, and community mental health, I understand how interconnected life's challenges really are. When you sit across from me, you are not just getting a therapist who understands anxiety or depression in isolation-you are getting someone who understands how systems, circumstances, history, and identity all converge to shape the way we experience our lives and ourselves I am also known for making people feel genuinely seen. Clients often share that they have never felt comfortable opening up in therapy before, and that something about this space feels different. I take that seriously, because I know that feeling safe enough to be honest is what makes the real work possible. My ability to draw from multiple therapeutic approaches-including CBT, Motivational Interviewing, Solution Focused Brief Therapy, and faith-based frameworks -means that our work together is never rigid. I adapt to what you need, not the other way around. And perhaps most importantly, I don't just help people cope, I help people change. There is a difference, and I am committed to the latter.
I believe that anyone who is ready to explore change, healing, or growth deserves access to compassionate, culturally responsive care, and that includes you, wherever you come from and whatever you're carrying. I work with adults and young adults from all walks of life-across race, ethnicity, culture, gender identity, sexual orientation, faith tradition, and life experience. Whether you're a first-generation college student navigating new pressures, a professional quietly struggling beneath a successful exterior, someone reconnecting with their faith, a parent trying to hold everything together, or a person who has simply reached a point where something has to shift , you are welcome here. I have particular experience working with individuals from communities that have historically been underserved by mental health systems, including Black, Latino, Caribbean, and other communities of color ,where stigma around seeking help can be real and where finding a therapist who truly gets your world matters. I also have deep experience working with young adults in that in-between stage of life where identity, relationships, and direction don't always feel settled yet. My practice is an affirming space. I work with clients regardless of religious background, relationship structure, or gender identity. Your whole self is welcome in this room, not just the parts that feel easy to talk about. My goal is simple-to be the kind of therapist you never had to wonder whether you could trust.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Life can sometimes feel like we're stuck in patterns that don't serve us-ways of thinking or reacting that made sense at some point but now seem to work against us. That's where CBT comes in, and it's one of the approaches I find most useful in my work with clients. CBT is based on the idea that our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are all connected. When we're struggling-whether it's anxiety, depression, relationship stress, or just feeling overwhelmed, there's usually a story we're telling ourselves that's keeping us stuck. In our work together, we'd explore those patterns with curiosity, not judgment. My job isn't to tell you your thinking is 'wrong.' It's to help you notice what's happening beneath the surface and figure out whether it's actually working for you. What I love about CBT is that it's practical. We won't just talk about how you feel-we'll work together on concrete tools you can actually use between sessions. That might look like challenging a thought that's been eating at you, trying a new approach to a situation that keeps going sideways, or just learning to pause before you react. Over time, those small shifts add up. I also believe that therapy has to meet you where you are. CBT isn't a one-size-fits-all script. How we apply it depends on your background, your values, your life experience, and what actually resonates with you. I've worked with people from all kinds of communities and circumstances, and the most effective work always starts with understanding your world-not fitting you into a model. If you've tried to make changes before and felt like nothing stuck, CBT gives us a framework to understand why, and to try something different together.
Faith based therapy
For many people, faith and spirituality aren't separate from their mental health journey-they're at the heart of it. Whether you're deeply rooted in your Christian faith or you simply draw strength from a spiritual connection you've carried throughout your life, I believe that part of who you are deserves a place in our work together. Faith-based therapy means I meet you where you are spiritually, not just emotionally. If scripture brings you comfort, we can draw on it. If prayer is part of how you process and cope, that's welcome here. If you've been carrying spiritual pain alongside everything else — guilt, doubt, feeling like your faith and your struggles can't coexist, that's something we can explore together too. I work with clients across a range of faith backgrounds and traditions. What matters most to me is that your beliefs are treated with respect and integrated into your healing in a way that feels authentic to you. Some clients want faith woven into every session. Others simply want to know their spirituality won't be dismissed or overlooked. Either way, you're in the right place. Healing looks different for everyone, and for many of us, it doesn't fully happen without honoring the whole person, including the part of you that believes in something greater than yourself.
Motivational Interviewing
Sometimes the hardest part of change isn't knowing what needs to be different, it's finding the motivation to actually get there. If you've ever felt stuck between wanting things to be different and not quite being ready to make a move, you're not alone. That tension is real, and it's exactly where Motivational Interviewing meets you. Motivational Interviewing is a collaborative, conversation-based approach that helps you explore your own reasons for change-on your own terms and in your own time. I won't tell you what to do or push you toward a decision you're not ready to make. Instead, we talk through what matters to you, what's been getting in the way, and what change might actually look like in your life. The goal is to help you find your own voice around the things you most want to shift. This approach works especially well when there's ambivalence, when part of you wants to move forward and another part isn't so sure. Rather than treating that as resistance, I treat it as information. That inner conflict often holds some of the most important clues about what you truly value and what kind of life you're working toward. What I appreciate most about this approach is that it's deeply respectful. You are the expert on your own life. My role is to ask the right questions, listen carefully, and help you connect the dots between where you are and where you want to be. Change that comes from within you tends to be the kind that actually lasts.
Solution Focused Brief Treatment
Sometimes people come to therapy expecting to spend a lot of time digging through the past before anything gets better. Solution Focused Brief Therapy takes a different approach, and for a lot of people, that's exactly the shift they need. Rather than focusing heavily on what went wrong or how problems developed, we spend our time focused on where you want to go and what's already working in your life. That doesn't mean we ignore your pain or skip over what brought you here. It means we use your strengths, your resources, and your own definition of success as the foundation for our work together. One of the things I find most powerful about this approach is that it assumes you already have what it takes to create change. My role is to help you see it. We might explore times when the problem wasn't as heavy-what was different then, what you were doing, how you were thinking. Those moments hold more answers than people often realize. Sessions tend to be goal-oriented and forward-moving. We'll talk about what a better day looks like for you, what small steps might get you there, and how to build on the progress you're already making even when it feels invisible. This approach works well for people who want practical, focused support without an open-ended commitment to long-term therapy. You don't have to have everything figured out to start. You just have to have some sense of what better looks like, and we'll work from there together.