LMFT, 6 years of experience
New to Grow
I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and have worked in mental health facilities and organizations for over 18 years and have been a LMFT for 6 years. I have experience working with: -Runaway teen youth (12-17 years old) -Children with autism/ADHD (under 12 years old) -Parenting Skills and Anger Management instructor -Transitional Aged-Youth (16-25 years old) -Adult psychiatric hospital setting -Adult outpatient treatment centers -Adults with disabilities (assisting living independently) -Integrative-Health in a health clinic (ages 5 - 65+ year olds). Working with many age groups and ranges throughout my career has humbled me to believe we are all in a quest to maintain a good quality of life within all phases of life. Let's meet to discuss ways we could work together for you to reach your desired outcomes!
In our first appointment, I will introduce myself and get to know each other to see if we are a good fit. I will listen to your presenting concerns that are bringing you into therapy at this time, ask questions regarding your current lifestyle, your childhood history, your expectations of therapy (what has worked/what has not worked in the past) and what desired changes you'd like to make to reach your goals.
I'd like to think some strengths I carry inside and outside our sessions is my curiosity, creativity and my quest to understand. I am a lifetime learner and aim to further my knowledge and work together to create a space you will feel understood to navigate reaching your goals. I am genuinely interested in getting to know you, assist in asking questions that you may already have answers to, and provide a compassionate space for you to grow and revisit your true self! *Note: sometimes humor tends to sneak into sessions when appropriate.
My current focus is on adult individuals (18+ years old) who experience challenges in the areas of self-worth, self-esteem, relationship with others (family, friends, romantic, acquaintances, co-workers/boss etc.), and ways to empower yourself to reach your goals. At times, symptoms of depression, anxiety, trauma and other mental health challenges arise, which we will work together to identify how it impacts your life, what is within your control and discover ways to cope and lower those symptoms.
CBT is an evidence-based method that I like to practice with those experiencing unhelpful thinking patterns and beliefs that affect self-esteem/worth and lifestyles.
For those that do not relate to the dominant culture group, I practice culturally sensitivity therapy that focuses on your background and belief system that pertains to race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, and other important elements that make up someone’s identity.
I enjoy highlighting strengths that enhance an individual to seek change and identify solutions to their presenting challenges. I use scaling questions to measure where you are at, identify old and new goals while also restructuring goals as we go, while identifying and envisioning your desired outcomes.
In MI, I practice with the intent to guide those that would like to implement change by discussing change talk, attentively apply reflective and active listening, summarize presenting challenges, evocative questioning and use metaphorical statements.
I encourage self-exploration through listening with empathetic unconditional positive regard and focus on our therapeutic alliance to have you lead yourself to your answers by getting in touch with your autonomy and increase your self-awareness.