(she/her)
As a therapist, the most important aspect of therapy is working together to create goals for therapy and create a path for meaningful change. Change is an element that is uncomfortable to most people, but by working together, we can establish lasting change through the use of each individuals strengths and by providing support. My approach is practical, I work from a cognitive perspective using cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical therapy, exposure response prevention, and positive psychology.
During our first session, I like to spend time getting to know each other by establishing goals for treatment. I believe the first few sessions are meant to build a collaborative working relationship to establish trust.
My background as a substance abuse counselor, re-entry lead for the corrections system, and private practice provides a unique perspective on guiding individuals through challenging events. I offer an environment that focuses on your strengths, how to build a more positive outlook of the self, and work on understanding you as a whole. I like to describe myself as a direct, compassionate person who looks forward to seeing my clients progress towards a more fulfilling life and obtaining their dreams.
I specialize in working with clients who have experienced pet loss/grief, substance abuse disorders, forensic populations, anxiety spectrum disorders such as agoraphobia and panic disorder, OCD, personality disorders, and trauma. I provide an environment that is collaborative, safe, and affirming that can help you to build trust while we work together to understand what you need and want from therapy. I enjoy helping clients work towards being the best version of themselves, whether that is by achieving their goals or simply working through the difficult aspects of life.
I use CBT to help with cognitive distortions associated with depression, anxiety, self- esteem etc. This can help guide therapy sessions and allow the individuals to work through patterns of behavior that can cause problems in their life.
I use ERP with OCD, trauma, panic and agoraphobia. This empirically validated treatment helps exposure individual to situations that they fear or that cause significant stress. When used correctly it can produce lasting behavioral changes especially with anxiety spectrum disorders.
This is effective for emotion dysregulation from BPD to Bipolar disorder. It teaches the client communication and interpersonal skills
This is the foundation of my therapy values as it stresses the importance of seeing the individual as a whole organism. We need to see the entire person and not just mental health problems. People are dynamic and so are their lives so we treat them as a whole with strengths and weaknesses
I use group therapy for a wide variety of mental health problems such as addiction, grief, peer support. We currently are running a pet loss therapy group right now to help process the difficult emotions associated with grief and loss