Licensed to practice in Maine and accepts 8 insurances. Specializes in Anxiety, Depression, Grief and 9 more.
(she/her)
New to Grow
Greetings, I'm Una. I am glad you are here! You are exercising courage right now as you search for a provider but finding someone to meet your needs can be daunting! So read on and don't stop until you have someone you can trust in your corner! We heal through connection and my style reflects that person centered framework. I will come beside you and help you feel safe and confident that you will be seen and heard without judgment. I will answer your questions and if I don't know, I will work to connect you to resources or information. I have decades of experience and training and I've been through my share of hardships. So I am a clinician and a client. I'm a mother and grandmother. I'm an artist and a researcher. Music, creativity and nature are my outlets and I seek connection and feedback when I struggle. I'm genuine and I am grateful that I can help others. I hope to offer that to you. Therapy is not a one size fits all service so I will treat you as an individual who may be overwhelmed with emotions, thoughts and behavior. I understand how trauma, early childhood experiences and grief can impact our functioning. I know that substance misuse can impact our health. I understand that life adjustments like marriage, having children, and career moves can rattle us and cause emotional distress . I also know that many struggle in silence and feel all alone. The problems don't resolve if not addressed and connection is key! Lets schedule a time to talk, let me be in your corner for a while.
When we meet for the first time, you will probably be nervous, that's to be expected, so lets ease that anxiety right now. I will guide the session, so no need for you to struggle with "how do I even begin?" I will ask you to share about your life, I will reflect and ask clarifying questions, I will check in to be sure you are comfortable and we will explore your struggles, your strengths and your goals. You will be invited at any time to ask about me and my work, style and experience. We will review your intake replies and clarify your intention. If I ask a question that you are not prepared to answer-you can pass for now and we will revisit if it comes up again. We will talk about what you need in the moment and make a plan to address this first. You will be provided with a plan for next steps and I'll invite you to give any feedback that can help as we move forward together. We will also plan for our next meeting with the invitation to do some "homework" between sessions. My main goal in the first few sessions is to build rapport and ensure you feel heard, safe and confident that our work together will bring about relief.
I have a calming presence and many have said that I ease their minds by providing a safe, comfortable place to open up about embarrassing or scary thoughts/emotions. I listen deeply and care for each person I have to honor to get to know. I have been through my share of struggles so I can relate. I see you as the expert of your life and respect what you say. I see strengths and will often point them out, even if you can not see them right away. If you need someone who is compassionate, smart, caring and clinically prepared, I may be your person. I have expertise in human development across the lifespan. This means that I understand some of the difficulties and challenges that can come during critical stages of development-birth to death. I have experience with issues of family estrangement-a painful family separation that causes intense grief. Family estrangement is more common these days but its painful-even if necessary-for all involved. I can help you cope and take meaningful steps forward. Career changes-wanted or imposed-impact our sense of self. I can help you rebuild after a career change or loss. I also understand compassion fatigue, burnout and moral injury that can happen on the job. Personal identity is often wrapped in our roles in relationship, career and what we "do." I help people regain a sense of purpose and self in the face of disruption of role. I am well versed in various treatment approaches and tailor our plan to your needs. I explain the process and am transparent so there is no wondering, "what does she think of me" or "is she judging me?' If you feel uncertain or uncomfortable-you are invited to let me know-I can take it. I'm here for You. This is not just "a job" for me. My work with you holds meaning and responsibility. I take that seriously by providing clinically sound, ethical, person centered care with a touch of humor and a sense of human connection..
Do you struggle with anxiety that keeps you up at night? Depression that has you scrolling in bed all day? Do you have relationship struggles that make it hard to come home,? Social anxiety that keeps you in? Do you have internal confusion that has you wondering, "am I crazy?" You are not alone, and you are in the right place. I have training and experience that can help!
What happened to you? Processing traumatic events in your life is important because after an event that felt extremely scary or life threatening, our system remembers. Our system works to protect us from future hurt by sending messages that we need to "fight, flee, freeze or fawn." This works well if there is a real danger. The problem is after trauma, our system sometimes mistakes an event or interaction for danger when its not. Then we feel protection is necessary and we react to these events as if it were dangerous. For example, if someone was abused by a parent who hurt them when they were using alcohol, years later, as an adult, they may be "triggered" or sense danger when they are simply sitting with a friend who has a beer in hand. It seems to come out of nowhere but internally, they associate drinking with danger so when someone drinks alcohol, the system goes into protection mode. They may react by fighting - yelling at the friend and alleging that they drink too much. They may also flee-reject this friend, block them and stay home. They may freeze-feel totally scared to do anything and suffer in silence with intense internal suffering. Fawning is another way some manage traumatic memories and these folks may try appease the friend by being agreeable and draw close to prevent harm. These reactions may even happen without conscious awareness. This may impact a healthy friendship. Traumatic events are serious markers in our life and can cause relationships and career problems. My approach to trauma informed care is to provide a safe space, ask your permission frequently so you feel in control. I monitor the pace so feelings are manageable. I offer choices, compassion and care as you open up about what happened to you. Sharing your story can help. We will also build capacity to recognize the feelings, thoughts and behaviors that arise. We can try various calming and grounding skills to use when you are impacted by traumatic memory. This will improve your sense of control, preserve healthy relationships and expand your ability to function. This process may take time, and patience but is effective. So let me help you share your story, learn about how trauma impacts your system and explore helpful ways to regulate.
What's going well? I want to know your strengths, talents and passion. I work to explore what's going well so we can build from there. I can often hear strengths, values and positive aspects of a persons life, even if they have forgotten. Our hardships can become the only lens we see from. I bring in and highlight the other viewpoints like the ways you are coping, making it through the day, your motivations, values and priorities. This allows you to see that even if it feels hopeless, there are aspects of your life that you can build from. All is not lost-you have strengths and accomplishments that are still available-sometimes we need to remember this to have the motivation to move forward. I am good at this and I will help you see that you have what it takes!
Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist who founded analytical psychology. Jungian psychology emphasizes the unconscious, symbolism, archetypes, dreams, and the process of becoming a more integrated self. We are often not conscious of our deeper feelings and thoughts but they arise in everyday life and can be problematic. I help people explore dreams, hard to explain emotions, dark thoughts and the shadow-parts of ourselves that we may reject, hide, or have difficulty accepting. Jungian theories also explore the persona-ways we mask to be accepted by others. Are you ready to take off the mask and see yourself? If you are brave and interested in learning more about the subconscious, dreams, symbolic and spiritual aspects of healing, I can help. Using Jungian theories and approaches, we can explore these concepts as they apply to you.