(she/her)
New to Grow
Relationship-based therapist with over 25 years of experience as a licensed mental health and addiction clinician, marriage and family therapist, infant and early childhood mental health consultant, and mindfulness practitioner. As an advanced practitioner, I've worked with leaders and professionals in a variety of helping fields dealing with vicarious trauma, high stress, and compassion fatigue. I take time getting to know people individually, hearing life stories, learning about areas of strength, resilience, and challenges. As a deep listener, I honor diverse and unique qualities and all life experiences, holding a confidential and brave space for exploration, and engaging in a reflective process to support healing, recovery, and improvement of overall health and well-being.
When we first meet, I encourage you to come with questions that you have for me about the therapy process and share any personal stories that will assist me in getting to know you. You must have the information that you need to determine your level of comfort with me as a therapist. It's hard to open up and share parts of your life, particularly if you are not experiencing a connection. This will be your time to learn about what to expect and to begin to share what is important to you.
Compassionate, Non-Judgmental, and Down-to-Earth Approach. My engagement techniques include deep inquiry, exploration of past experiences, trauma, loss, adjustment, physiological, developmental, social-emotional, and relational issues, and linking these experiences to current or present life functioning. I communicate with sincerity and positive regard, genuine interest, and light, sarcastic humor when appropriate. I will follow your lead and will offer direct ideas and input when invited and warranted. I know that it is a big decision to come to therapy, and goodness of fit regarding communication, pace, and approach are extremely important. I invite continuous feedback and will partner to ensure that you are receiving the type of experience that is most helpful to you.
As a provider my focus for you is on creating a trusting environment, understanding what brought you to this place in your life, and partnering together to identify areas of focus that are meaningful to you are the initial steps to establishing goals for treatment. You might come with clearly set goals, or we might take time to discover aspects of your life experience that you want to work on in therapy. Through inquiry and supportive reflection, we will identify goals, talk through timelines, and initiate steps towards each goal. Our treatment process will allow for flexibility and adapting goals along the way as you develop more insight into your life experiences. Together, we will determine what works best for you, whether it's home assignments, tapping into strategies and specific resources, supportive education, practices during sessions, and continued exploration.
Other specialties
I identify as
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I use CBT as a way to facilitate understanding and as a pathway to gaining awareness of the connection to thoughts, emotions and actions, while paying close attention to patterns of behaviors that are contributing to distress.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
The practice of Mindfulness can create a sense of presence and awareness while supporting one's ability to notice and regulate emotions, thoughts, and sensations. Mindfulness practices can vary and may be useful to support a change in a way of being and/or a shift in unhealthy life patterns.
Compassion Focused
I see therapy as a way to engage in self-reflection, vulnerability and ultimately lead to insight and change, yet our own negative thoughts and self-critique tend can divert progress. Compassion focused interventions support the development of a healthy internal response which in turn allows for practicing new and supportive ways of being.
Grief Therapy
Grieving can be in response to the death or physical loss of a person, pet, a move, a job, a physical capability, and even a sense of loss over time throughout life's aging process. Grief does not follow a prescribed path and is often misunderstood, therefore having a space to process feelings, emotions, sadness, anger, confusion, and loneliness can be useful to support healing process.
Trauma Informed Care
Many life experiences and symptoms are misunderstood and not recognized as a possible link to trauma, sometimes from early in life, and often through experiences that would be categorized as difficult life events. There has been an exponential increase in traumatic life events, ranging from chronic and enduring exposure to a heightened threat to safety, and events that are unpredictable and are out of one's control, leading to extreme worries, fears, and an overall sense of distress. Trauma informed therapy takes into consideration life events and individual capacity to work through memories in a safe, trusting, and supportive space.