New to Grow
No matter what it is that you are going through, you don’t have to face it alone. I am a licensed therapist and addiction counselor who supports adolescents and adults with challenges related to depression, anxiety, trauma, relationships, self-esteem, belonging, purpose, spirituality, identity (including LGBTQIA2S+ and racial identity), grief, substance use and addiction, suicidal ideation, self-harm, men's issues, young adulthood, and life transitions of all kinds. If this sounds like you, I am here to help you process emotions, loosen conditioned beliefs and habitual patterns, and work toward a more kind, accepting relationship with yourself. As a contemplative psychotherapist, my approach rests on helping you reconnect with your brilliant sanity—or human beings' intrinsic nature of goodness and wisdom that we all lose touch with. Through our work together, I will support you to uncover your wisdom, intuition, and innate capacities for clarity, self-acceptance and self-compassion, and healing. Being human is hard, and just by being the human that you are, you are deserving of your own kindness, love, and care. It would be an honor to walk alongside you on your path toward whatever your heart yearns for most.
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
When we meet for the first time, we’ll discuss what brings you to therapy, your history, and what has helped you in the past, go over my clinical orientation and what to expect in therapy, and address any questions you may have. Together, we’ll explore your initial goals for therapy (these can, and should, change over time!) and how I may be able to help you with whatever you are going through. Not every therapist is a perfect fit for every client, and I encourage you to show up with a curious, open mind as you feel into whether we will be the right fit for your needs.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
As a contemplative psychotherapist, the north star of my clinical work is my clients' own wisdom and intrinsic nature of basic goodness. Thus, my approach is one of partnership that supports you, as the expert of your own life, to become more deeply in touch with your own goodness, wisdom, and intuition. While you may feel it is difficult or even impossible to be in touch with these qualities within, I am committed to orienting our work toward these innate qualities in you and helping you uncover them. Furthermore, my work as a contemplative psychotherapist is also focused on cultivating an attitude of kindness and acceptance toward yourself. It is only when we cultivate the clarity and the courage to accept things as they are that we can really do the work of changing. I am less focused on pathology, and more focused on helping you uncover the qualities and strengths you already possess that you will need along your journey. My approach is also quite relational, which means that I tend to the therapeutic relationship we will build together as a container of presence, attunement, and safety for your growth to unfold within.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
Perhaps you are having trouble getting out of bed in the morning, struggling with unbearable anxiety, or feeling like a heavy, dark cloud follows you. Perhaps you are experiencing difficulties in your relationships, grieving a loss in your life, overwhelmed with stress or grief due to political and world events, or facing the big unknowns of a life transition. Perhaps you are struggling with perfectionism, with accepting or loving yourself, or seeking to explore what purpose, spirituality, or authenticity mean in your life. Perhaps you can't even quite put your finger on what's "wrong," but you feel less than fulfilled are yearning for more. While what brings you to this moment may vary, my ideal clients are adolescents and adults who feel motivated and ready to do the work of facing themselves and taking ownership over their lives. Even if you aren't sure what your goals may be, what matters most is that you are interested in cultivating the courage, openness, and self-compassion you'll need on your journey.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
As a contemplative psychotherapist, certified mindfulness instructor, and lifelong meditator, my clinical practice is centered on supporting you to develop essential mindfulness skills for your therapy journey—and for your life more broadly. Mindfulness helps us to be more present in our lives and cultivate greater understanding about our experience, including our thoughts, emotions, and habitual patterns and conditioned reactions to stress. Ultimately, mindfulness is essential for whatever your therapy goals may be, as it is supports our capacity to choose our response to stressors, rather than react in a habitual manner. Through discussion, guidance on mindfulness techniques, homework, and interventions in therapy that encourage you to explore your present-moment experience, my approach will support you to come home to yourself, your basic goodness, and your intuition.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
I utilize ACT to support clients to increase nonjudgmental awareness of their experience, detach from unhelpful thoughts or judgments about their experience, identify their values, and increasingly live more fulfilling, values-oriented lives.
Humanistic
My approach is centered on unconditional positive regard for my clients, and I utilize humanistic approaches to build a trusting and attuned therapeutic relationship, reflect and build upon your existing strengths, and support you to explore and pursue meaning, self-actualization, and authentic engagement in your life.
Motivational Interviewing
I utilize motivational interviewing techniques when appropriate to support you to identify your reasons and motivation for change, to define your own goals for yourself, create a realistic plan to achieve your goals, and to empower you along the way of your unique journey of change.