(she/her)
New to Grow
I am a therapist with experience in various forms of therapy, having assisted children, adolescents, and adults in individual, group, and family settings. I am adept at facilitating difficult conversations. First and foremost in my life is my family. Through good and not so good, I have made decisions in my own life to bring myself peace in order to be the best version of myself for everyone who loves me. Genuine and honest are the two qualities I strive to show each and every person in my life. I will never tell you anything unless I believe it. I am not here to make you feel better but for you to feel better about yourself. I will listen closely and ask thoughtful questions to make sure I am understanding what you want me to know.
My intent in our first session is to make you feel as though you made the right choice when you chose me. I will provide a non-judgemental space for you to explore the reasons you came to therapy. Our session will include some conversation about my idea of therapy so you understand me as well. We will have a chance to talk about expectations; mine as well as yours, which are equally important! At the beginning we are strangers, so we will get to know each other until you are comfortable to begin sharing more sensitive topics and information. If that happens in session one then that is fantastic, but it is not expected.
What makes me unique is that I have quite a varied background in career, experience, and education. I have extensive experience in caring confrontation - in other words, bringing to your attention when something is not working for you and then working with you to figure out how to change it. We all have these things in life to look at. I am no exception. I like to get right to the point and I have been told that my straightforward approach is appreciated. Therapy should be available for as long as it is needed, but it should not feel like a long, drawn-out process.
What I ask of my clients is to come to me with an open mind and the willingness to put in the effort to make the challenging parts of life less so. I will give you my time, my patience, my experience, and my empathy. In return, you will be open to those things and create a partnership with me.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I am a firm believer that we all have the ability to "train our brain" just like we train the rest of our bodies. Just like practicing for a sport makes your body better adept to play it, practicing the way we think makes our brain more adept at thinking that way. It is sometimes hard work, but that is what I am here to help you with!
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
At the core of much of our emotional distress is misunderstanding how we are actually feeling. Also, the lack of ability to recognize that we are emotionally escalated causes us to react instead of think about how we would really like to handle a situation. Sometimes we need practice recognizing our heightened emotions as they are happening and training ourselves to stop and think before acting.
Family Therapy
I have extensive experience in family systems and how their function or dysfunction affects the interpersonal relationships within. I love sitting down with families and helping them recognize unhelpful patterns of communication and behavior and showing them that there is a way to change them for the better!
Grief Therapy
There is little to say other than the only thing predictable about grief is that it is unpredictable. I am here for the ride as you navigate loss and have personal experience to draw from and share.
Motivational Interviewing
Anyone in therapy is on the path to change; changing what causes you discomfort. Making the commitment to work with me through what can sometimes be difficult choices will get us there. My role is to ask the questions to get you to think about what that change might be and how you want it to come about.