Individual Therapy
Each person is unique and I believe that therapy should be tailored to fit each individual client within a safe, trusting, empathetic, nonjudgmental and collaborative relationship. My client is the expert. My job is to walk alongside my clients and to gently guide them in finding a more positive and healthier path forward toward self-compassion and self-acceptance.
I work with culturally/gender diverse populations in managing depression, anxiety, OCD, ADHD, trauma, grief/loss, major life transitions, terminal illness, and end-of-life. I also have significant life experience in relationships, marriage, parenting, and living with a disability. Life is a journey of continual growth and I strive to always be authentic with myself and others.
Trauma
I believe that trauma is at the root of most mental/emotional challenges. Trauma can be very damaging to the self but it does not have to define who you are.Trauma can be anything from a mass shooting or a deadly car crash to the mean kid in the third grade that made fun of you. The mind is a complicated thing. Our body remembers things that sometimes our rational brain does not. No amount of reasoning can make those negative thoughts and emotions subside. We instinctively react to triggers we don’t even recognize or understand. Therapy can help to identify those triggers. Psychoeducation can help us to understand how the brain works so that we can work towards healing the deep shame and feelings of unworthiness that are trying to shield us against a threat that may no longer exist. Our brain is wired to protect us against danger at all costs and it doesn’t always realize that the danger is gone. Sometimes we must go beyond talk therapy to heal from the trauma. I can help you to process and heal without having to relive the trauma over and over again.
EMDR
EMDR, Eye Movement Desensitization Re-processing, was developed by the late American psychologist, Dr. Francine Shapiro (1948-2019). Dr. Shapiro discovered that the side-to-side eye movements, that happen naturally when we dream during our REM cycle, help our brains to process stress and anxiety. She developed the EMDR technique to help her clients process their traumas. The bilateral stimulation (eye movement, tapping, or sound) enhances your brain's natural healing ability to process the traumatic events so that you can move on from them and leave them in the past where they belong. Unprocessed traumas are like open folders in your brain. They haven't been properly processed and filed away as memories. With EMDR, I can help you to target those memory networks so that they can be processed and filed away.
IFS
IFS, Internal Family Systems, was developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz. Dr. Schwartz began his career working as a Family Systems therapist. Family System Therapy works from the idea that each family member plays a specific role to make the family function. As Dr. Schwartz began working with individuals, he noticed that they too had different parts of themselves that held specific roles. Sometimes these parts would get stuck in a trauma at the age that the person was when the event occurred. These parts are often trying to protect us from future threat. Together we can work with the parts of you that are trying to keep you safe. You will learn how to give those parts compassion and appreciation for getting you through those really tough times. You will build healthy loving relationships with your parts and they will shift back into balance with the self. We all have what we need inside ourselves to heal ourselves and together we will work to bring that unique, strong, loving self back to the surface.
Anxiety
Do you sometimes feel as though you don't have control over your own actions? Instead of moving towards your values, you do things that move you further away? Do you have racing thoughts that seemingly control your every move? Rationally, you know these thoughts are not true but emotionally, they are in control. This is your body and parts of you that are trying to shield you from danger. These parts served a purpose at some point in your life and probably got you through a difficult period. I can guide you in healing those wounds to clear the path ahead so that ultimately you become in control of your own choices.
Self-esteem
If we are told enough times throughout our lives that we are not good enough by parents, teachers, employers, colleagues, and/or friends, we start to believe it. We internalize it. Do you feel like no matter what you do, it is still not good enough? Are you struggling with imposter syndrome? Are you desperately seeking approval/love from others to feel worthy? Are you worrying all the time about what other people think of you? You do not have to live this way. You are good enough. I can help you shift those untrue beliefs. They are just thoughts, not facts. We can create new neural pathways to replace the false ones that feel so true. It takes time and practice and repetition but research now shows that it is possible.
Depression
Are you struggling with extreme feelings of overwhelm? Do you feel hopeless and unmotivated? Do you feel alone? Sometimes it feels as though there is no light at the end of the tunnel. It can feel impossible to even take one step forward. A safe supportive space can make all the difference. I can help you to bring the focus back on what is most important to you and together we will take it one small step at a time. We often set goals that are too difficult to reach which then leads to disappointment and a sense of failure, and as a result, we feel more hopeless and depressed. Rather than focusing on the larger picture which can feel very overwhelming, I can help you set small achievable goals that we can celebrate and we can carefully begin to build a more hopeful path forward.
Grief/Loss
The grieving process is different for everyone. Losing someone close to you is quite possibly one of the most painful journeys you will ever take. Just when you think you are doing better, it slams you down again. There is no way around feeling the pain, the anger, the guilt, and the deep sadness. It is the only way forward but the emptiness never totally goes away. It stays with you always. You just learn how to live with it. You learn how to make space for it. After a while, it can feel really lonely when others expect you to move on or get over it. It's hard to grasp when you haven't been there. I've been there. I know what it feels like. I can provide a safe space for you to process your grief. You do not have to do this alone. I've helped many people through the grieving process. I've held space for clients facing terminal illness and their own death. As a society, we don't really talk about death even though it is a very real part of all of our lives.
I strongly believe that it is important to talk about it and to make space for it.