Licensed to practice in Connecticut and accepts 10 insurances. Specializes in Anxiety, Life Transitions, Perinatal / Postpartum and 10 more.
New to Grow
I have worked for several non-profit organizations since earning my Master's degree in Counseling. This allowed me to learn about lots of different people, the challenges we face and the resources available to help. I have had my own full time counseling practice since 2018 in the Greater Danbury and New Milford, CT areas. I currently provide HIPAA compliant virtual/telehealth therapy 4 days per week along with in-person sessions 1 day weekly in Brookfield. I love meeting new people and learning about their challenges and strengths, hopes and dreams, mistakes and regrets. My goal is to get to know you better and to help you with support, validation, and insight, to teach you coping skills and help you reduce the distressful feelings you may be struggling with.
Prior to the first session, I invite you to your own private client portal where you may review the standard intake paperwork and complete some questionnaires to help me get to know you better. Then, when I meet you, whether on-line or in-person, we can talk a bit more deeply about what you are interested in accomplishing during your experience with me. I like to get more detailed information about you that can help me understand you better. I encourage you to ask questions both before the first session and during.
I will be looking for your strengths as well as your challenges. It's important for me to hear what you have already tried that worked and what didn't work so well. If you've had therapy before, share with me what was helpful and what wasn't. I think it's important to see you as a whole person, not just a particular diagnosis or problem. And as a whole person, you are part of a family, relationship, friend group, work or school environment, and community. You are the result of a lifetime of positive and negative messages, events and attachments. You may be struggling with physical conditions that affect your mood, thinking and behaviors. Let's look at these together and find ways to move forward in happier, healthier ways!
I welcome clients who would like to feel better about themselves, who would like to learn to speak up to get their needs met, who would like to be accepted and cared about for who they are. I understand that too many people struggle with anxiety and fears and I invite you to talk about them openly so we can help you overcome them. If you are struggling with communication or respect in your relationship or family, I may be able to help. Depression and anxiety are much more common than most people think but there are things you can do to improve! Pregnancy and postpartum conditions can cause mood and anxiety disorders in 1 in 7 women and so it is very important to seek help! Wellness often takes some time and work but it's worth it!
I feel it is important for clients to gain understanding of what happened to them in their childhood, how the verbal and physical messages they got from their caregivers and "loved ones" may have left significant wounds, including the feelings of rejection, shame and fear of abandonment that keep rising to the surface in their lives. Often, clients can't seem to understand why their relationships keep failing or they attract the wrong kinds of friends and lovers. Even when they find a person who may seem perfect, clients might feel insecure and jealous, often pushing the person away due to inability to trust. Once client start to understand this dynamic, they can start to work on changing thoughts and actions, using positive affirmations, role playing, visualization, self care, and mindfulness to learn to accept themselves as deserving of love. I would also help them build on their healthy coping skills to help them slow down when confronted with a difficult situation with other people so they can think before reacting in negative ways in order to preserve and improve relationships when appropriate.
I believe it's important to help clients look at how their thoughts influence their feelings and actions in addition to how the messages they've heard throughout their childhoods and adult lives have affected them deeply. CBT is about looking at those thoughts and beliefs to see if they are valid, changing those negative thoughts and behaviors into more positive ones, which will help us feel better about ourselves. It can be hard work, but it is worth it to break those old ways of thinking and acting! CBT helps clients to recognize that there are thoughts and beliefs that lead to the feelings of inadequacy, guilt, fear, anger and other uncomfortable feelings. When clients identify the thoughts and beliefs, they can work to disprove them by finding the evidence of what is really true! We look at some of the words we use: always, never, should, can't, mustn't and what if, to see how we have let them influence our feelings about ourselves. It's awesome to watch clients gain understanding and awareness and to see people change and grow!
I encourage clients to become more mindful and present in each moment both within their bodies and within the various situations that make up their lives. Learning to practice deep breathing several times a day can help clients start to tune into their bodily sensations and to get to know what those sensations are telling them. It's helpful to become more aware of the symptoms that might indicate anxiety, depression, insomnia, hormonal imbalances or other distressing sensations that may need medical evaluation. I see clients as whole beings who are also affected by the people, events and environment around them. By increasing clients' abilities to be mindful, they can increase their awareness of the people around them on a deeper level, which helps them be more present, more understanding and compassionate, and to know and enjoy them better.