LMFT, 15 years of experience
New to Grow
Hello! I'm a native Kentuckian with two degrees from the University of Kentucky including a masters in Marriage and Family Therapy. I also have close ties to Oregon where i worked for over 10 years on a crisis mental health team. I provided care and compassion to individuals who were struggling to cope through crises brought about by trauma, depression, loss, psychosis and more. My interventions were typically brief as my goal was to help folks move through their crisis and make plans for follow up care. Now I get to provide ongoing services and do a deep dive into the problems that left alone can lead to a crisis. I enjoy supporting people as they learn and discover better ways to cope and uncover their own strong sense of resilience.
First I want to acknowledge how tiring it can be to tell your story to yet another provider be it a primary care doctor, an orthopedist (I'm typing this with a broken finger), or a therapist. However the more I know about you, the better I can understand your unique situation. Thankfully, my background in crisis work taught me to gather relevant information quickly. In our first session together I most want to learn what brought you to me. What inspired you to finally seek help? I will also need a little background. In clinical lingo it is called a bio-psycho-social. In the real world that just means tell me about yourself. What have been the biggest challenges in your life? Who is in your support system? Who or what is in your day to day world? Where's your sense of purpose come from: work, school, kids (with 2 legs or 4)? Yes! Some of this info will be on intake forms that I will have reviewed before our first session, however much can be learned from hearing straight from you! I would not want to close our first session without setting some initial goals. Let's start to decide what we are working toward. We can fine tune it later. And sorry (not sorry) but there will be "homework." Just a little at first. Lasting growth and changes happen during the hours you are not talking to me. So I'll always be giving a little take home work.
My greatest strength is my 10 year history of crisis counseling. It taught me to build connections with people quickly, to grasp enough of the situation so that I might help then and there. While this approach does not solve all problems, it does set the stage for more in-depth work where lasting change is made. I've been told some of my best strengths include an empathetic yet appropriately challenging approach. I value my client's perspective and believe they can do the hard work required to change their life. I utilize techniques from numerous approaches including narrative therapy, motivational interviewing, solution-focused therapy, and cognitive behavioral techniques along with looking at where we come from and what factors made us who we are.
My dream client is anyone ready to take a timid step or giant leap toward making changes to improve their lives, to reach their goals. to do the hard work and celebrate the results.
There are times our own thoughts, our internal dialogue, may cause more harm and challenges than any external factor. I'm here to help you challenge the thoughts and subsequent behaviors that may be contributing to sadness, worry, frustration or a general feeling of being stuck in your life and relationships.