If you are on the path toward healing or overcoming your past yet still struggle, my practice can help. Through time spent serving in community mental health and substance abuse treatment settings, I have obtained over 10 years of experience in guiding children and adults toward answers for their life issues and conflicts. Specifically, I engage wounded individuals who feel ready to confront the traumas and issues that get in the way of living their best lives. Through a non-judgmental and client-centered approach, I help clients uncover truths about their life, self, and relationships. I help people who struggle with mood and dissociative disorders as well as Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and trauma in children and adults. In seeking a therapist, you need someone who not only understands your issues but also understands you as a person.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
During the initial stages of treatment, clients often note that I quickly help create an empathic and warm space that truly belongs to them. They often report being understandably nervous at first, but after emphasizing that my office is a judgment-free zone where they can reveal as much or as little personal information, clients report feeling hopeful that a clinician finally gets them. After several sessions of putting forth genuine effort and engagement in resolving the problems, clients often recognize me as an ally who is emotionally supportive. Most importantly, however, clients report feeling better because they are in therapy with a psychologist who not only cares but also challenges and holds them accountable for their progress.
What treatment methods and tools do you utilize?
I view distress from the lens of psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral theories. This means that while I believe a lot of distress stems from negative and traumatic early life experiences, most suffering occurs in how we think, believe, and feel about ourselves as a result of these events. I help clients find insight into their dysfunction and challenge them to make different decisions that can help them have better lives. I also utilize mindfulness techniques, grounding work, deep-breathing techniques, and progressive relaxation which are particularly effective for mood, dissociative, and trauma-related disorders. Additionally, I educate clients on the mechanisms of their disorders and assign homework to reinforce the material discussed in sessions.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
Relationally, clients would say that one of my best assets is having an inviting and easy-to-talk-to presence. Therapy is often considered scary because people fear they won’t be heard or seen but my clients appreciate the sense of safety I provide in our sessions. This safety may be influenced by my experience of serving people from various walks of life. I’ve learned that no matter which culture or issues someone has, people ultimately want peace. Another benefit of working with such diversity is that I am very trauma-informed and understand how much these events can affect one’s life. I welcome difficult conversations with my clients and they often value the honest observations I share to help them see the blind spots that could be hindering true growth.