New to Grow
Hi, I'm Kathryn "Katie" Sharp, and am a clinical social worker. I've been working with individuals, couples and families for more than 20 years. I have worked with anxiety, depression, trauma, serious illnesses, grief and even adoption! I bring a practical approach to therapy and seek to offer something to provide some immediate relief. As a social worker, not only am I tuned into the psychological, therapeutic needs, but am mindful of the systems clients live in and at times can assist in connecting them with other resources as well as therapy. I love problem solving and am not scared of a crisis. I think that while crisis can be pretty overwhelming, it also offers an opportunity to make corresponding leaps in growth. Clients find me to be approachable, down to earth and easy to talk to. I like to laugh and think that sometimes humor, even dark humor, can be a great way to cope and release some tension! My family includes my husband of 22+ years, an adult son, a "on the cusp adult" daughter who is in school pursuing her career and 3 dogs.
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
I look at the first session as an opportunity to not only begin putting together a picture of what the client is bringing as their presenting problem or challenge, but also a time to discuss how we might work together. It needs to be a good fit for the client!
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
I bring practicality and useability to therapy. My goal is for clients to to feel confident that they are getting something useful to them in their everyday lives.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
I work with adults, either individually or as couples who are ready to take an active part in making changes to live better--however they define "better". Taking an active part may be small steps, but small steps made intentionally add up to change. I start with what is most important to the client and when they aren't even sure what that is, I work with them to break down big, unwieldy problems to manageable chunks. I work to tailor each session to each individual person and their unique needs, strengths and goals. I also learn from them what has helped in the past, what didn't help and what their comfort level is in trying something new.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
ACT is very helpful in weathering difficult situations where we may not have much control.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
DBT is one of the most empirically studied therapeutic models and is proven to be quite effective.
Gottman method
The Gottman method works especially well with couples who want to improve communication, more effectively manage conflict and strengthen their relationship with one another.
Attachment-based
Attachment-based therapy gets to the core of what is important to us and shapes us as humans--connection.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
CBT helps us be aware of how our thoughts and emotions work together. Learning how to manage both thoughts and feelings is a powerful way to create change.