Hello! I am Chelsea! If you are ready to begin a gentle journey of recovery (whether from childhood stuff, dysfunctional relationships, unhealthy habits, or sudden loss), I would be honored to travel alongside and coach you through. We can work together to build and strengthen your confidence in yourself (and your decisions), improve your mood, and determine a new, better way to live.
If you choose to move forward with me as your therapist, in our first session, my aim is to get to know you while I get a full picture of your situation. Then, we will work to identify a treatment goal (or goals) for you based on where you want to go. I will also share some resources with you by the end of the session so that you can begin seeing what works for you in managing the symptoms you are experiencing.
During the course of the past 9+ years, I have worked with a various groups of people who have experienced a wide-range of different types of trauma, stress, and grief. My work has shown me the importance of prioritizing open-mindedness, authenticity, and connection during the recovery process--allowing me to share a sense of hope and confidence that we can get you to a better place.
Are the ways that you have been trying to get along just not working anymore? Does it feel like you are running out of options? Perhaps you identify as an adult child of emotionally immature parents? If you have experienced trauma, lack of support from your parents, or are grieving, it can feel almost impossible to reach your daily goals or show up as your authentic self in relationships--leaving you feeling depressed and worried about how the future will play out.
A Person-centered approach is the foundation I use before exploring any other treatment methods. I want to know how clients experience their problems, what they're most comfortable with, and about their history in their own words. I trust that clients know their situation and needs better than anyone else, so in order to help them to get where they want to go, I provide the structure, but hold the space for them to take the lead in their healing.
CBT is one of the first therapy approaches I gained experience with and is a core treatment modality that I pull from to assist clients with gaining awareness to how their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are related. It is also useful in categorizing different types of common, negative, unhelpful thought patterns in order to make them easier (and less intimidating) to address and change--leading to the ability show up in life more confidently.
I was first trained in DBT about six years ago. DBT has been shown to be extremely useful to folks who tend to feel "swallowed-up" by their emotions and struggle to make the "right" decision for themselves in the moment. Although I do not adhere to a strict DBT structure in therapy, I frequently pull from it for teaching clients distress tolerance, mindfulness, emotional regulation, relationship, and boundary skills.
I was also trained in Motivational Interviewing early on in my career as a therapist and I find myself pulling from it in virtually every session. I use it as a tool to help clients identify how they want to change aspects of their lives; find and access the strengths and motivation they already have; and to feel seen, heard, and encouraged.