LMHC, 28 years of experience
New to Grow
I am committed to working collaboratively with you toward healing in a thoughtful, present, and emotionally focused manner. A broad range of training and experience provide me the skill, maturity, authenticity and heartfelt commitment to the highest professional and ethical standards to serve your counseling needs. I embrace a variety of therapeutic modalities with strong humanistic, spiritual, existential and solution-focused underpinnings. I work with a wide range of emotional and behavioral issues providing services that span from therapy for depression and grief counseling to parenting support and couples counseling. In a serene comfortable and supportive atmosphere, I offer a highly personalized humanistic approach tailored to each of my clients individual needs to help attain the personal growth to which you aspire. I strive to guide restless and weary souls. I have discovered we all have and are aware of our internal struggles in one way or another and yearn to co-create with and be supported by an empathic, intuitive, seasoned and humanistic professional. As spiritual beings having human experiences, I am honored to guide and walk with you on your journey.
In our first session or sessions, you can expect an easy flow of natural conversation so that I may better know (and "feel") who you uniquely are and your individual concerns. I do not follow a strict format, but rather allow you to steer in the direction of what you feel you want me to know. I may ask questions to gain better understanding or nudge you once in a while.
While I have many therapeutic tools which I sometimes jokingly refer to as “a big bag of tricks”, I think what my clients find most comforting and helpful is my relaxed style and years of, not only professional experience, but life, as well as having overcome many of my own struggles.
I most enjoy working with a motivated adult client of any age, gender or persuasion. I do well with a person who likes to engage deeply and be gently challenged.
In our work together, we mindfully integrate proven and often playful approaches to intention and begin creating your heart's desires. We will cultivate your individual and unique potential. I do not take a "one-size-fits-all" or cookie-cutter approach. That NEVER works!
I have discovered in my almost 30 years of practice and 60+ years of life that so many of what challenges us are existential questions of meaning, life and death, who I am or what is my purpose? I try to integrate meaningful thoughts, questions and understanding about these many gray areas of existence.
Often I have found that with my guidance, clients were quickly able to “see the forest through the trees” gain ease and clarity, and thus, relatively fast solutions, or at least the path to them.
I have discovered that clients who have some sort of spiritual practice have a greater resiliency, well-being and success. Whether that practice is religious, nature, yoga and meditation, service or mindfulness. There are many approaches one can take to create balance and serenity, which I have found, combat challenges. I pay particularly attention to identifying the personal and interpersonal obstacles that may be preventing you from engaging in life and relationships in a way that you desire. I also pay even more particular attention to identifying your personal and interpersonal strengths and support your awareness and utilization of these strengths.
"Words don't teach, experiences do!" This where we can have some fun! It can be beneficial to talk about challenges, their origins and patterns, as well as get my feedback. However, I have discovered that "too much talking about the problem" can reinforce it. I have a knack for moving issues from cognitive (the brain) to the experiential... Whether it be through song lyrics, art, jokes / laughter, homework (oh no!), role-playing and other in-vivo exercises. It is not always easy to "retread a new groove" from habitual patterns. Knowing what you "should" do, does not always work, finding fun and creative ways to do it makes it more natural and easy to create more satisfying and life-affirming patterns. In the wise words of Mary Poppins, "A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down!"