Starting therapy can be overwhelming, whether for the first time ever or the first time in a while. Many of us have been shamed and dismissed for what we had to do to survive, even in therapy. My goal is to help you understand what your past taught you, and how you may be carrying these lessons in a way that no longer benefits you. This is not meant to "dwell in the darkness" but to reconnect with yourself and learn how you can begin to show up for yourself in ways that did not feel possible in the past.
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
Are you exhausted from fearing feelings? Many of us have had to disconnect and numb to survive. Maybe everyone thinks you’re “fine” and maybe you want it that way. But that doesn’t make it any easier. Our work together will focus on what in your life taught you to cope in the ways that are no longer helping and work towards reconnecting (or connecting for the first time) with yourself so that shame can stop running the show.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
I view therapy as a process of reconnection and embracing our imperfectness. For some of us, this may sound impossible and terrifying because it never felt like an option before. My goal is to help you gradually repair your relationship with yourself, finding safety with your body, your emotions, with food, and your relationships with others.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
I am a licensed mental health counselor and I work with teenagers and adults who are working through disordered eating behaviors, body image distress, complex trauma/ PTSD, self-esteem challenges, family/relationship challenges, depression, anxiety, and all of the uncomfortable feelings that come with them.
Experiential Therapy
We may use techniques like psychodrama, expressive arts, and somatic work when words don't feel like enough or emotions feel too intense for the person to just talk about them. This is done at your own pace when/if you feel it is helpful.
Psychodynamic
We will explore early experiences throughout your life, particularly in childhood and your first relationships, whether that's with family members, friendships, or school experiences. Many people say that they don't have specific memories or that things feel blurry back then. We can still do this kind of work! It's not necessarily about processing every memory in specific detail but rather trying to understand how present self is carrying things your past self did to survive especially when it comes to attachment figures (the significant people in our life who taught you about relationship dynamics).
Gestalt
Progress usually comes with building tolerance to uncomfortable things, especially emotions. Gestalt therapy is all about the "here and now". We will process what is coming up in the moment, whether this means emotions, physical sensations (maybe you get a pit in your stomach whenever you feel sad and it tends to lead to behaviors you're trying to work on, defense mechanisms (maybe you're someone who uses humor to cope and we want to use that to our advantage rather than minimizing your feelings), etc. This work may look like empty chair exercises, letter writing, role playing, exploring emotions, and communication techniques.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
We may discuss certain techniques, like emotional regulation or distress tolerance skills, when you are trying to challenge certain behaviors, like eating disorder behaviors or self-harm.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
My work often comes from a parts work perspective. Many of us who have experienced very difficult things (whether we consider that trauma or not) have had to disconnect from ourselves to get through it. As we disconnect, we do things that helped us cope, whether those things were "healthy" or not. Since it worked (we got through it), we may keep doing it and it may feel automatic. As we work together we may explore these parts that were born out of particular experiences and may cause internal conflict. As we understand these parts and their roles, we can work together to help you have some more compassion for yourself and find more beneficial ways to cope and get these needs met.