I am a licensed clinical mental health counselor (LCMHC). I was educated at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, where I received a Master’s in Psychology. I have experience in a variety of clinical settings including: residential treatment centers, hospitals, and outpatient settings. I have worked with adolescents, adults, and elders who were dealing with a variety of challenges such as: anxiety, depression, grief, stage of life changes, and personality disorders.
The first session is all about learning about the client’s reasons for coming to therapy and getting to know them better in order to begin creating a therapeutic relationship.
First and foremost, I listen with intent and compassion and I have a deep respect and empathy for the individual healing process. I have 12 years of experience working in the healthcare industry and have had the opportunity to understand mental health from high acuity cases. My background in mental health began with my journey studying philosophy and developing an understanding of how people try to understand the world around them and their lived experience. Thus, I have a deep respect for the human experience.
CBT helps clients change self-defeating behaviors and patterns of thinking. Clients in therapy can develop skills and strategies to manage stress, develop positive sleep habits, and challenge the negative thoughts and stories clients tell themselves. Improved thinking can lead to modifying behaviors from unhelpful to helpful, which can lead to improved quality of life.
The Jungian therapeutic style utilizes metaphors that help illuminate the patterns in our lives. To achieve this, Jung uses archetypes, or representations of the human experience that can be seen as symbolic parts of ourselves. Most often in Jungian therapy, there is exploration of an archetype Jung calls shadow, which is a part of ourselves that is kept out of sight because it has previously been met with disapproval. The work here is to discover our shadow and use it to support the acknowledgement and acceptance our authentic selves. Archetypes promote optimal understanding in ourselves, people in our lives, and the way of the human mind.
Psychodynamic therapy works toward building new insights into the motivators of our thoughts and actions. Some of these motivators may be unknown to us and reside in what is called the unconscious. If the unconscious motivators are not made conscious they can cause suffering. Due to fear, we often avoid suffering which leads to suffering in the self, relationships, and work environments. In psychodynamic therapy, the work is to gain insights into our unconscious in order to alleviate suffering.