Focuses and Specialties
Who I Work With
I have experience working with a wide range of mental health concerns and life struggle, but I am most passionate helping others with the following issues:
-
Whether you meet the official criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or have noticed you have been struggling with new or worsening symptoms after a negative life experience, helping people return to a sense of safety and connection is my biggest passion as a mental health provider.
-
Depression can be extremely difficult to overcome, thanks to the negative beliefs that can take over, the low energy, or the loss of interest in things among other impacts. However, I believe therapy can help you rewire your brain, so that it can recognize and experience the good in life once again, allowing you to feel more hopeful and connected to life.
-
When anxiety occurs, it can be crippling. Specific fears can cause us to try and avoid anything related to the thing we’re afraid of, while more generalized anxiety can cause us to worry about nearly anything and everything. I’ve worked with clients experiencing wide ranges of anxiety symptoms, helping them to break their cycle of anxiety and feel more calm and less worried in their day-to-day lives.
-
Let’s be real, life is stressful. There is so much expected of us in our day to day lives, not just from others, but even from ourselves. While stress may always be a part of life, it doesn’t have to be something that feels too big to handle. I not only help client build tools and resources to cope through stressful situations, but also work with them to build a stronger, healthier foundation from which to face stress, reducing the impact it may have on them from the start.
If you don’t think your experiences fall into one of these categories, or are unsure if what you’re going through is something I can help with, you can still reach out! Because I know people’s concerns don’t always fall into neat little boxes, I offer free, 15-minute phone consultations for prospective clients. This give us a change to get to know each other a bit, and even if it’s decided I would not be a good fit for you, I can still provide options for therapists who is better aligned with your needs.
The Methods I Use
These are some of the various ideas and types of therapy I draw from as we navigate your personal ideas to healing and resilience:
-
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) helps you process traumatic memories and decrease the distress attached to them.
-
Dilectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) can help you build skills in four major areas: Distress Tolerance, Mindfulness, Emotional Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness.
-
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and how to challenge and replace negative core beliefs.
-
Somatic Techniques include tools to help you reconnect with your body and calm your nervous system, such as breathwork, grounding, mindful movement, body scans, and resourcing
-
While not formally trained in Internal Family Systems (IFS), do often follow the central idea that we all have a core Self, along with many “parts”.
-
Polyvagal Theory is a big piece on the foundation from which I practice. It explains how our autonomic nervous system influences our health and behavior, as well as what we can do to help regulate it.
-
A person-centered approach to therapy means my focus is on you: your needs, preferences, and values. I strive to ensure our work together is not a “cookie cutter” treatment, but tailored to what you want and need.
-
A trauma-informed approach means recognizing the fact that trauma can be a universal experience. As a mental health provider, I believe it is important to acknowledge this fact and to prevent harm or retraumatization by working with clients in safe, trustworthy, and empowering ways.
I am constantly expanding my skills and learning new ways integrate and apply what I’ve already learned. If you’re curious what specific, specialty trainings I’ve taken, you can find my ever-expanding list here.