LMHC, 8 years of experience
My approach is holistic and encompasses the whole person, addressing many dimensions of well-being, including biological, psychological, social, cultural, and spiritual factors. I work with clients who have dual diagnoses, for example, a mental health disorder and a substance use disorder, or more than one mental illness, for example, bipolar disorder and PTSD. Many of the clients I work with do not meet criteria for PTSD, but have post-traumatic stress that is causing other conditions.
During the first session and all sessions, I want to listen to you. I consider you to be the expert on you, although you might be angry, confused, in pain, overwhelmed; we have to work together to define what makes you happy, what kind of life you want, and how to achieve it.
I have tremendous respect for my clients. Someone who attempts to engage in therapy is a person who is brave, who is willing to explore their strengths and take personal accountability to change what does not work.
I believe that I can best serve clients who have serious mental health conditions, addiction, grief, relationship issues, and experience of trauma.
I combine various therapeutic approaches depending on your needs, whether your goal is to feel in control of your anger, anxiety or depression, or to manage more serious symptoms of addiction, bipolar disorder, personality disorders, relationship problems, or trauma and PTSD. We can improve your mood by replacing automatic negative thoughts with balanced, helpful thoughts, and we can find solutions to everyday problems. We can also go deep into childhood issues or trauma to work with emotions and heal the haunts of the past, and we can learn how to handle overwhelming emotions and develop a strong sense of self.
Biofeedback is a way to learn to self-soothe and measure success.
CBT teaches how to evaluate your automatic negative thoughts and replace them.
This approach allows for processing thoughts that are based on assumptions, painful past learning, low self-esteem, and trauma. Thoughts are restructured and lose their intensity or force.
Underneath or occurring with patterns of thinking are emotions that have to do with attachment style.