(he/him)
I'm a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who knows that you are much more than a diagnosis. Having spent many years working in crisis intervention, suicide prevention, and with people in a variety of difficult legal and personal situations, I tend to be pretty hard to shake. I want to help support you as you seek to control the anxiety, depression, and other stressors that can feel so limiting. I begin from a place of acceptance and positive regard, and utilize evidence-based strategies in collaboration with you, to come together in a plan for meaningful growth. Also, as someone in recovery myself, I welcome those who are looking to move beyond the stifling grip of substance abuse.
Our first session will be a combination of past, present, and future. We'll look into what is bringing you to therapy at this time, but also your history with therapy and with the issues you are now experiencing. We will explore 'standard' intake information regarding your family background, your current support system, and the elements of your everyday life as you are living now, with a view to developing a plan for moving forward to achieve the results you want to reach.
I'm not looking to size you up so I can pronounce what is wrong with you and slap on a diagnosis. I want to know who you are, what you're going through, and how we can make that better. Throughout much of my life, I used humor as a defense mechanism and means of deflection, but now find it can be an effective therapy tool --at the right time and in the right doses-- useful for broaching difficult topics or pointing out problematic thought patterns. Having worked as a Clinical Supervisor (helping other therapists be more effective) for over a decade, I refined my ability to provide gentle guidance and support, while also helping others find their motivation and engage their authentic selves in their work.
In many cases, the starting point for coming to therapy is an immediate situation that needs addressing -- anxiety around a particular situation or for no discernible reason at all, depression -- often masked as anger or hidden under alcohol or other substance use, or having dug your way into a pit -- personally, professionally, or legally -- from which you see no escape. Whether the goal is just building enough resilience to get past the current crisis, or finding a way to arrive at a longer-term transformation to escape the patterns that find you back in these spaces again and again, we can collaborate to make it happen.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, we can work together to readily adapt its core principles to your individual situation and help identify problematic thought patterns that may be contributing to difficulties.
Motivational Interviewing
Utilizing Motivational Interviewing, together we will identify areas of change you are hoping to make and set practical steps to move toward improvements.
Person-centered (Rogerian)
Unconditional Positive Regard is the foundation on which I build client relationships and find a collaborative way to move forward. As Carl Rogers notes, “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.”