LCSW, 10 years of experience
New to Grow
I'm so glad you're here. It's such a crucial step you've taken, and I honor you for placing your health at the top of your list today! I came to clinical social work after many years of engagement in other fields, so I feel a connection with your efforts to find the right situation and therapist for yourself in this moment. I believe that we are innate experts of our experience, and also that an outside voice and companion can be critical during moments like you may find yourself in now. I believe that therapy is an opportunity to explore not just the areas that are hard for us, but also to expand into the areas that bring joy, light, support and growth. Thank you for considering me as an ally and co-collaborator!
In therapy with me, you will know what to expect. We’ll spend the first few sessions establishing a rapport, defining the culture of our alliance, establishing opening and closing routines that will lend structure to our time together. I'll follow your lead as the expert on your experience, inquiring about the ideas, events, beliefs and concerns that make up your personal universe. We'll work together to create a plan to support you in moving toward the goals you identify as most critical to your well-being. And as we move through that plan purposefully, we'll measure our progress all along the way!
We all experience challenges in this life, and I've worked with talented therapists to address the struggles I've faced as well. I keep that empathy for the hard times my clients are facing at the center of my practice, it is a sacred bond that we all share. I've used Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) to support people in shifting difficult thoughts to feel better and take meaningful action, and I've used Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and other evidence-based, trauma-focused therapies to help people address areas of unprocessed trauma. My style is conversational and not overly clinical, with my sense of marvel at this life and humor (yes, humor!) attending as leading allies throughout the relationship.
I’ve worked in a variety of settings, from a community mental health clinic to a housing first agency. In my work as a therapist, I’ve been fortunate to have learned so much from my clients, who I’ve met as they contended with issues related to grief and loss, addiction, depression and anxiety, life stage transition, trauma and abuse, or any other of the many difficulties that life can present us with. My approach is to lead with my curiosity about your life, align with you to form a strong working bond and remain focused on engaging in this work side-by-side.
Our thoughts can have strong effects on our feelings and our actions. Join me in as we bring curiosity to those thought patterns and discover ways to shift habits of thought, which can lead you to experience positive emotional change as well as new possibilities for taking action in your life.
Traumatic events can leave us with unprocessed memories that cause problems later on. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an approach that I've employed to support clients in reducing negative feelings related to trauma. From one-off incidents such as auto accidents to prolonged mistreatment, such as childhood abuse, EMDR and other trauma therapies have helped my clients heal these painful areas.
Let's face it: change is hard to commit to, even when on some level we know it's the right choice for us. I've used Motivational Interviewing to support clients in gauging their desire for--as well as readiness to--change, and then walked with them as they take the steps toward their chosen path.