(she/her)
Hello, I'm Nicole, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of California. I have a passion for working with individuals in order to assist them in developing and utilizing the necessary coping skills to manage and thrive during difficult times, life transitions, and through needed change. My goals are to create a safe and supportive environment for all my clients, while they increase their level of self-understanding and self-awareness.
In our first session together, we’ll start with a brief introduction and go over some logistics of therapy, then we will complete an assessment together to get to better know you and dive into the specific challenges you’re facing. This will help create goals and a plan for us to work through in follow-up sessions.
I have experience working with a variety of couples (monogamous, open, poly, kink lifestyle), families, teens, as well as individuals (18+) dealing with a variety of personal, professional, and social concerns and use my strengths of building rapport, creativity and empathy to encourage clients to discuss their emotions and experiences and develop strategies and skills to change behaviors and cope with difficult situations.
I use Compassion and Collaboration to help client's work towards fostering compassion, especially self-compassion, to help individuals address issues like self-criticism, shame, and difficulty feeling warmth and kindness towards themselves and others.
I use various CBT tools through talk therapy that help clients identify and change negative or unhelpful thought patterns and behaviors that contribute to emotional distress or other problems.
I use various DBT tools through talk therapy that help clients regulate their emotions, improve interpersonal relationships, and increase distress tolerance.
I use Solution Focused therapy as a goal-oriented approach to psychotherapy that focuses on helping clients identify and build upon their strengths and resources to create solutions for their current concerns and focus on what is in their control.
I use this Trauma informed Care to acknowledge and addresses the impact of traumatic experiences on individuals. I emphasize safety, trust, and empowerment, creating a supportive environment where clients can process their experiences without fear.