Licensed to practice in Connecticut and accepts 9 insurances. Specializes in Trauma and PTSD, Addiction / Substance Use, Depression
New to Grow
I am a licensed professional counselor (LPC) and licensed alcohol and drug counselor (LADC) with more than 22 years of experience in behavioral health, addiction treatment, trauma-informed care, and mental health services. My clinical work focuses on helping adults navigate trauma, substance use and recovery, anxiety, depression, chronic stress, grief, life transitions, and challenges related to emotional regulation and overall well-being. My approach is person-centered, trauma-informed, and integrative, drawing from evidence-based modalities such as CBT, ACT, motivational interviewing, mindfulness, and mind-body approaches. I'm particularly interested in the connection between mental and physical health, including stress physiology, lifestyle factors, nervous system regulation, metabolic health, and resilience. In my practice through Grow Therapy, I strive to create a collaborative, nonjudgmental environment where clients feel heard, respected, and actively involved in their treatment. Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, I work with each client to understand the experiences, patterns, strengths, and goals that are unique to them. Together, we develop practical strategies to promote meaningful change, greater self-awareness, improved coping, and sustainable emotional well-being.
Your first therapy session is an opportunity for us to get to know one another and begin creating a comfortable, supportive, and nonjudgmental space. I understand that starting therapy can feel intimidating, especially if you have never been in therapy before or have had previous experiences where you did not feel heard or understood. There is no expectation that you arrive knowing exactly what to say or where to begin. During our first session, I will invite you to share what brought you to therapy, what has been happening in your life, and what you hope might be different as a result of our work together. We may explore your current concerns, important life experiences, relationships, strengths, coping strategies, and any patterns you would like to better understand or change. Just as importantly, this session allows you to get a sense of who I am as a therapist and whether my approach feels like a good fit for you. Therapy should be collaborative, and I encourage questions, feedback, and open communication throughout the process. My goal is not to overwhelm you with questions or expect you to tell your entire story in one session. We will move at a pace that feels appropriate and establish priorities together. By the end of our first meeting, I hope you leave feeling heard, respected, and clearer about what we can work toward. Most importantly, you do not have to have everything figured out before coming to therapy. Sometimes the first step is simply showing up, having an honest conversation, and allowing us to begin from there.
A key strength I bring to my sessions is blending extensive clinical experience with genuine compassion, curiosity, and a deep understanding of each person’s unique story. With over 20 years in behavioral health, addiction, trauma, and mental health, I have worked with individuals from diverse backgrounds facing significant challenges. These experiences have shown me that effective therapy is not one-size-fits-all; each person comes with a unique mix of experiences, strengths, relationships, stressors, values, and goals. Therefore, I believe treatment should be tailored to reflect that individuality. My approach is collaborative, person-centered, trauma-informed, and integrative. Instead of asking “What is wrong with you?” I focus on understanding what has happened in your life, how you've learned to cope, what might be holding you back today, and what you need to move forward. I aim to create a safe space where clients can be authentic without fear of judgment, while offering encouragement and gentle challenge when growth calls for stepping outside familiar patterns. I also draw from multiple therapeutic models rather than relying on just one. Depending on the person, I may incorporate elements of CBT, ACT, motivational interviewing, mindfulness, IFS-informed techniques, stress management, and trauma-informed mind-body strategies. This flexibility helps us find what works best for you and adapt as your needs change. I view mental health from a whole-person perspective. Emotional well-being is interconnected with sleep, stress, relationships, physical health, lifestyle, environment, and the nervous system. My background and ongoing work in Mind-Body Medicine deepen my understanding of these connections, while respecting the boundaries of psychotherapy. Ultimately, I bring authenticity and humanity to the therapeutic relationship. I know that resilience isn’t about never struggling; it’s about developing the capacity to adapt, seek support, learn from difficulties, and keep moving forward.
My ideal client is someone who may feel overwhelmed, stuck, disconnected, or exhausted from carrying the weight of past experiences and current challenges, but who has a desire to better understand themselves and create meaningful change. They may be navigating trauma, anxiety, depression, addiction or recovery, chronic stress, grief, relationship difficulties, life transitions, burnout, low self-esteem, or patterns of thinking and behavior that no longer serve them. I especially enjoy working with individuals who are curious about the connection between their thoughts, emotions, behaviors, relationships, physical health, and overall well-being. You do not need to enter therapy knowing exactly what you want to change. Sometimes simply recognizing that something feels “off,” that you are tired of repeating the same patterns, or that you want more from your life is enough of a starting point. My ideal client is willing to approach therapy with openness, curiosity, and a willingness to gradually explore difficult experiences while also recognizing their strengths. I value working collaboratively with clients who want practical tools and coping strategies while also developing a deeper understanding of themselves. You may also be someone who has spent years taking care of everyone else, functioning in survival mode, or appearing strong on the outside while privately struggling. Therapy can provide an opportunity to slow down, reconnect with yourself, and determine what you need. Ultimately, I enjoy working with people who want more than symptom relief. Whether your goal is healing from trauma, strengthening recovery, improving relationships, managing stress, rebuilding confidence, or simply feeling more grounded and fulfilled, we can work together toward creating sustainable changes that support the life you want to build.
I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help clients better understand the connection between their thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and responses to stressful situations. Often, the way we interpret an experience can influence how we feel and how we respond. Together, we identify patterns such as catastrophizing, negative self-talk, overthinking, avoidance, all-or-nothing thinking, or beliefs about yourself that may have developed through past experiences. My approach to CBT is collaborative rather than simply telling you to “think more positively.” We explore where certain thoughts and beliefs come from, whether they continue to serve you, and how they may be influencing your relationships, self-esteem, mood, anxiety, recovery, or ability to cope with stress. I may help you learn how to pause and examine automatic thoughts, challenge cognitive distortions, consider alternative perspectives, and develop healthier behavioral responses. We can also use practical strategies such as grounding, problem-solving, behavioral activation, coping-skills development, and gradually approaching situations you may have been avoiding. I often integrate CBT with trauma-informed, mindfulness, motivational, and mind-body approaches. My goal is not to dismiss difficult emotions or convince you that everything is okay. Instead, CBT can help you develop greater awareness of your internal dialogue, respond to challenges more intentionally, and build practical skills that can be used in everyday life. Over time, the goal is for you to become increasingly capable of recognizing unhelpful patterns on your own and choosing responses that are healthier, more balanced, and more consistent with the life you want to create.
I use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help clients develop a healthier relationship with difficult thoughts, emotions, memories, and experiences rather than feeling that they must constantly fight, avoid, or eliminate them. ACT recognizes that emotional discomfort is a natural part of being human and focuses on helping individuals respond to that discomfort in ways that are more flexible, intentional, and consistent with the life they want to live. In our sessions, we may explore patterns of experiential avoidance, such as withdrawing, procrastinating, using substances, suppressing emotions, overthinking, or avoiding situations that create discomfort. Rather than judging these behaviors, we work to understand what function they serve and develop healthier ways of responding. I incorporate ACT techniques such as mindfulness, cognitive defusion, acceptance, present-moment awareness, values clarification, self-as-context, and committed action. For example, cognitive defusion can help you recognize that having a thought does not necessarily make that thought true or require you to act on it. Mindfulness can help you observe thoughts and emotions with greater curiosity and less reactivity. Values are also an important part of my ACT work. Together, we can explore what genuinely matters to you—such as relationships, health, recovery, personal growth, career, spirituality, creativity, or connection—and identify realistic actions that move you toward those values. The goal is not to eliminate every uncomfortable emotion or negative thought. Instead, ACT can help you increase psychological flexibility: the ability to remain present with difficult experiences while still making choices that reflect your values and goals. Over time, this can help you feel less controlled by your thoughts and emotions and more empowered to create a meaningful and fulfilling life.
I use integrative therapy because I believe each person is unique, and therapy should be flexible enough to reflect your individual experiences, needs, strengths, and goals. Rather than relying on one therapeutic model, I thoughtfully draw from several evidence-based and trauma-informed approaches to create a treatment experience that is personalized to you. Depending on what you are experiencing, I may incorporate Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to identify and reframe unhelpful thought patterns, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to strengthen psychological flexibility and values-based living, motivational interviewing to explore readiness for change, and mindfulness-based strategies to improve emotional regulation and present-moment awareness. I may also integrate Internal Family Systems (IFS)-informed concepts, person-centered therapy, trauma-informed interventions, and mind-body techniques to help you better understand emotional responses, triggers, protective patterns, and the ways past experiences may continue to influence your present life. My integrative approach also recognizes that mental health does not exist in isolation. Stress, sleep, relationships, physical activity, chronic health concerns, lifestyle, environment, and nervous-system regulation can all influence how we think, feel, and function. When appropriate, we can explore these factors as part of understanding your overall well-being while remaining within the scope of psychotherapy. Most importantly, integrative therapy means that I adapt the therapy to the person rather than expecting the person to fit into a particular therapeutic model. Together, we will determine which approaches and strategies are most helpful for you. As your needs and goals change, our work can change with them. The goal is to help you develop greater insight, practical coping skills, emotional resilience, and a deeper understanding of yourself so that the progress you make in therapy can translate into meaningful and sustainable changes in your everyday life.
I use Motivational Interviewing (MI) as a collaborative and respectful approach to helping clients explore change without feeling pressured, judged, or told what they “should” do. I recognize that change can be complicated. It is completely normal to want something different while also feeling uncertain, fearful, or attached to familiar patterns. Rather than viewing this ambivalence as resistance, I see it as something important for us to understand together. In sessions, I use open-ended questions, reflective listening, affirmations, and thoughtful exploration to help clients identify their own reasons for change. We may examine what is working in your life, what is no longer serving you, what matters most to you, and how your current choices align with the person you want to become. Instead of prescribing solutions, I help you recognize your strengths, values, motivations, and capacity to make meaningful decisions for yourself. Motivational Interviewing is particularly valuable in my work with addiction and recovery, lifestyle and behavioral changes, treatment engagement, health-related goals, and situations where someone feels stuck between wanting to change and not feeling fully ready. For example, rather than simply telling someone that a behavior needs to stop, we might explore what that behavior provides, what it costs them, and what their life could look like if something changed. This creates space for insight and helps motivation come from within rather than from external pressure. Ultimately, MI fits naturally with my person-centered philosophy. I respect that you are the expert on your own life. My role is to help you uncover your own reasons for change, strengthen confidence in your ability to move forward, and translate that motivation into realistic, sustainable steps toward the life you want.
I use trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help clients understand how traumatic and distressing experiences can influence the way they think, feel, behave, and respond to situations in the present. Trauma can shape deeply held beliefs about ourselves, other people, relationships, trust, safety, and the world around us. Together, we work to identify these patterns without judgment and understand how they may have developed as ways of coping, adapting, or surviving difficult experiences. My approach begins with establishing safety, trust, and emotional stability. I do not believe trauma work should involve pushing someone to disclose or revisit experiences before they feel ready. We work at a pace that respects your individual needs while developing practical skills for emotional regulation, grounding, managing triggers, reducing anxiety, and coping with distress. As therapy progresses, I may use CBT strategies to help you recognize automatic thoughts and cognitive distortions associated with trauma, such as self-blame, catastrophizing, guilt, shame, mistrust, or feeling permanently damaged by what happened. Together, we examine these beliefs, consider alternative perspectives, and work toward developing healthier and more balanced ways of understanding yourself and your experiences. I also integrate trauma-informed, mindfulness, acceptance-based, and mind-body strategies when appropriate. This can help you become more aware of how trauma may show up not only through thoughts and emotions but also through physical sensations, avoidance, hypervigilance, reactivity, or feeling disconnected from yourself. The goal is not to erase the past or minimize what happened. Instead, our work focuses on helping you process your experiences, reduce the power that trauma has over your present life, strengthen resilience, and develop a greater sense of safety, self-compassion, confidence, and control moving forward.