Licensed to practice in 2 states and accepts 16 insurances. Specializes in Couples Counseling, Grief, Trauma and PTSD and 4 more.
(she/her)
New to Grow
Hi - Thanks for checking out my profile. The foundation of my practice is that you, the client, are the expert in your life and have the potential to heal. I am here to support you in facilitating change, to assist with establishing and reaching your goals and to deepen your connections with yourself and with others. I believe optimal mental health is achieved through processing difficult or painful experiences in a safe environment. Your sense of safety is incredibly important to me. I am working for you. You determine your goals – my job is to help you reach those goals. Your feedback will direct our work. I hope that you feel affirmed, listened to and understood during our time together. I hope I can be a useful resource for you, to support you to achieve your goals of coming to therapy.
In our first session, we will begin with introductions and then take time to get to know each other. This will allow us to create a safe, non-judgmental and accepting space where you feel comfortable sharing what is on your mind. We will discuss confidentiality and safety. Lastly, we can begin to outline a few short term goals of therapy.
I think my strengths are experience, empathy, nonjudgmental stance, good listening, skills, and insightfulness. I care about my clients and want them to meet the goals they set out to meet at the start of therapy.
I love working with clients who are first-time therapy users. I also find deep meaning in supporting those who have experienced severe trauma and pain in their lives. For many in these situations, the experience of just being listened to, and encouraged, is unique and healing. In these situations, even knowing what to say takes a while. I believe getting to what we really need to say is a big part of therapy. I have over 25 years experience supporting clients in transitions, in my work in hospice, palliative care and in domestic violence and sexual assault. Often a life experience will place us in a whole new mindset, and therapy can assist in this transition, to assist in not getting stuck but moving through the challenging event.
All of us ,at some point in our lives, are grieving a loss. It is not always a death, it can be a divorce, retirement, moving to a new city, "empty nest," or a life-alerting medical diagnosis. As a previous hospice and palliative care social worker, I have worked with many clients in being a witness to their grief. This can be very individualized depending on the client, their current situation and life, and the loss they are dealing with. I am also trained in Grief after a Traumatic Loss and have experience working with clients who need specialized grief support.
I incorporate Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills to help clients build emotional regulation, improve coping strategies, manage stress, and develop healthier ways of navigating difficult emotions and relationships. DBT emphasizes finding balance between accepting where you are while also working toward meaningful change.
IFS helps us locate the "voices" in our head that send us messages that seem to be in direct conflict with what we really want and keep us from becoming our true selves. This therapy approach gives us tools to be able to connect with those internal voices and get clear on why they are there, and hopefully quiet the ones that are not in alignment with our goals.
Trauma-informed approach to therapy acknowledges safety, empowerment and having a voice and choice. It reinforces that you have experiences you need to share in a safe, confidential, non-judgmental environment. The healing depends a lot on education to help with the understanding you are not alone. Being trained in trauma informed care means that I am trained in recognizing the wide-ranging impacts that trauma can have on individuals and focusing on healing. We will focus on empowering you with knowledge and skills, to be able to heal.
I am Level One trained in the Gottman Method, which is a multi-prong approach to working with couples in conflict. The main concept of the Gottman theory is the “sound relationship house” as a basis of healing. The Gottman theory identifies four common communication styles referred to as “The Four Horsemen,” as well as an evidence-based approach to counter-acting these negative styles.