LCSW, 6 years of experience
Hi! I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker practicing in North Carolina. I received my Master's Degree in Social Work with an Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology/ Minor in Criminal Justice. I began my professional career working with at-risk children, teens and their families. I then expanded into working with adults providing individual and group therapy. My professional career is roughly 15+ years. I've worked within homes, schools, residential facilities, military installations, and community based programs. I'm currently focusing on providing individual therapy within a variety of mental health disorders.
In our first session together, we'll start with brief introductions to build rapport as well as to determine if this is the right fit. The right fit means providing a comfortable safe/ non-judgmental environment to enhance learning and grow. If you decide to move forward with me as your therapist, we'll explore past and current experiences, challenges/ barriers as well as strengths in several areas of your life. This helps me remain mindful of your experiences so that I can provide any trauma informed care to create a tailored treatment plan for us to work through in follow-up sessions.
What makes my therapeutic approach unique is that my grass roots professional experiences involved direct trench work. My experiences as a residential therapeutic counselor, supervisor, family worker and program director at two different outdoor/ wilderness camps taught me how to really meet and experience people as and where they are. I learned how to assist them in developing meaningful life skills to maximize their untapped abilities to overcome obstacles to success. Additional strengths I've learned along the way has taught me how to be patient, calm, mindful and supportive during crisis situations to produce healthier and more accountable outcomes. I've not only learned how to teach others how to think outside of the box, I also practice what I teach. Flaws, mistakes and adversities can be overcome with a combination of determination, willingness to do the work and the right guidance and support from a trustworthy and caring Professional like me.
If you struggle with understanding past and present experiences, thoughts and behaviors but desire to grow beyond your circumstances, then you've come to the right person. I'll work with you to identify specific and achievable goals to make your vision more of a reality. This is done by working within your own pace with a little nudging, motivation and encouragement along the way.
I've learned how to effectively use CBT strategies with youths and adults over the last 20+ years. I teach people how to identify, develop and use more productive coping and problem solving skills that challenges and eventually changes unhealthy thinking, problematic emotions, and behaviors. This is also reinforced with occasional homework assignments to reinforce learning.
Through the use of solution-focused brief treatment strategies, I assist and teach youths and adults with assessing and understanding individual strengths as well as identifying unique barriers to overcome and manage life stressors.
Incorporating Trauma Informed Care involves implementing finesse in empowering others to find their voice while exploring past or present traumatic experiences if/ when deemed appropriate. The goal is to avoid re-traumatization in an emotionally safe environment through the use of psycho-analytic approaches to validate unrecognized vulnerabilities that may continue to influence thoughts and behaviors.
My experiences with motivational interviewing began over 15+ years ago as a former Forensic Interviewer for Child Protective Services. This involves creating and maintaining rapport while implementing effective active and reflective listening strategies such as asking more open-ended questions; providing affirmations of self-efficacy, hope, and confidence in the ability to change; and summarizing what has been shared to confirm listening, reframing and genuine interest of the client's perspective with a lack of judgement.
In all of my years of implementing behavioral health services, it is always important to provide Psychoeducation from start to finish. This approach involves, but is not limited to, thoroughly informing and explaining information surrounding diagnosis and symptom criteria as well as the variety of beneficial treatment methods. Service delivery begins with providing information/explanation on the client's level of understanding (laymen's terms). This also includes providing other supporting resources (leaflets, podcasts, videos and/ or homework exercises) that may motivate the client to find out more for themselves to continue progress if/ when therapy is no longer needed.
1 rating with written reviews
June 18, 2025
Dora and I connect well in our spiritual beliefs. She really listens to me and she gives me input on my therapy. She believes in me and she encourages all my successes big or small. I have not always had these things from my therapist. Dora is amazing!