LCSW, 10 years of experience
New to Grow
I would like to introduce myself, my style and my approach. I consider myself to be validating, supportive and as creating a space where my clients tell me that they feel like they can be their authentic selves. I am currently in my mid 40's and I view this as my middle spot in life where I am not too far removed from my own 20's to relate but I am also just on the cusp of my 50's and anticipating all the new life changes that will come. I have enough experience to share with others what I have learned along the way but also enough wisdom to say I do not know it all. I view the therapy relationship as one paralleling other relationships in an individuals life. I like to meet you where you are, get to know you on your terms as you feel safe and comfortable while also challenging you to be the best version of yourself. I was a late graduate student who took some time to identify what I wanted to be when I grew up. I began working in the mental health field when I was in my 20’s, in that time I took advantage of watching others while I decided how I could best benefit others and be a light when times felt the darkest. I graduated with my MSW at 33 and have found immense joy in giving back to others.
During the first session we meet I will give a short explanation of what you can expect to try to rest some worries if they are present. Let’s be real, this process can be difficult, you are about to sit with a complete stranger and share some of the larger struggles of life and history. What we will do in the first session is scan through your history touching on different areas. I will remind you that if you are not comfortable with any topics or questions, you can feel empowered to tell me that you will share later as we get to know one another. While going through history if I touch on a topic that I know if filled with emotions I will often suggest that we leave that for the next session when we can spend the entire session or as much time is needed speaking on it. My sole reason for doing this is that I do not want to leave anyone emotionally “raw” at the end of an initial session and without anymore tools than they came in with to assist them with these emotions. I also want to make sure to give these topics the time and respect that they are due. I tend to share that in my 40’s I do not think that I could share the past year of my life in one hour, let alone the totality of my life. I lend this same expectation to my clients and this is why we do a surface check in areas to see which ones are most relevant to you and what brought you in. Aside from this approach I use with everyone, I meet you where you are and we create the path that it is needed for your comfort and goals.
In a world where we have so many options, I believe choosing our providers can be just another space where we also have so many options and that this can be overwhelming. What I believe makes me unique as well as the right match for someone is my easy going, down to earth personality and the environment that I create as a result. I encourage all of my clients to know that in the first initial meetings, that while I am gathering details to better get to know you, you are also interviewing me to see if the "match" feel right. It is imperative in this type of relationship to have some draw and level of comfort to your provider. This is imperative because this is the individual that you are choosing to be open and honest with, the person that you are choosing to trust to know, see, honor and hold space for you. Your provider should covey a healthy and supportive environment, one that utilizes gentle confrontation with unconditional support. I believe that my clients will receive this from me. I think what makes me unique in my own way is my life experiences and my ability to bring them into the therapy environment. I present myself with humility and wisdom sharing at times, when it is appropriate, the lessons that I have learned as well as witnessed. I meet my clients from a place where we are both on the same level and I work very hard at maintaining this dynamic. Often it has been reported back to me by my clients that they feel comfortable, safe and able to just be themselves. This is my goal for you, to come as you are and allow me to assist you in the journey of growing into who you want to be.
The therapy relationship is like all others. There is a “connection” that is either there or not. I empower all my clients that you are getting to know me as much as I am getting to know you. This is the time for you to identify if you feel that I am a good fit for your personality wise. This is imperative to the success of the therapy process. I enjoy working with clients who may have a thought of where they want to be or at least have an idea that where they are right now, is not where they want to be. I immensely enjoy working with clients who are questioning if therapy is right for them. Helping those that have not had the greatest therapy experiences in the past. These circumstances present an opportunity to not only demonstrate what it is to build healthy trust with an individual but can also provide evidence that not all bad things in life are destined to repeat and that we can empower ourselves to change our perspectives. I do not take the trust or time that is needed lightly to build the therapy relationship, and I find it rewarding to be able to create and be a safe place for my clients. I feel I am a great fit for clients who want to be held accountable, to be provided with support while also challenging you to go to the places that you need to go to make the changes needed to create the vision that you have. One of my favorite questions to ask is, "if your largest issue were taken away, what would it be". From there, I enjoy asking you to paint a picture of what life will look like with this largest problem gone. Envisioning where you want to be, what the goal looks like and feels like is the start of the process.
I believe that this modality is a heavy influence for me. The basic concept that our perception to a stimuli creates our thoughts and then ultimately creates our emotions and subsequent behavior reactions feel so large to me. When an individual presents to me wanting to alter their emotions, perceptions and reactions this is my go to teaching. Our perceptions are often our reality and when we can see a stimuli differently we can alter end results.
While EMDR will not be correct for every client there are many tools of this modality that find their way into my treatments. I believe an emphasis of this modality is that ability to feel safe in our skin and the ability to pendulate with a foot our past memories while still holding another foot consistently in the present moment. The goal behind this is to not feel consumed by our past memories, especially when those memories bring you distress.