WHAT IS THERAPY?
MY APPROACH TO PSYCHOTHERAPY
My therapeutic work is grounded in the understanding that all people seek connection, acceptance, safety, and belonging. I emphasize a trauma-informed approach to counseling, which means I prioritize a strong relational foundation of trust. As a counselor, I believe that by embodying a compassionate, grounded presence, my clients have an innate pull to cultivate more acceptance and power within themselves. By offering radical, unconditional positive regard (a.k.a. being nonjudgmental and accepting my clients as they are, even if they can't yet accept themselves), I have seen the incredible change that can occur.
My therapeutic approach is primarily informed by the following modalities: Internal Family Systems, Gestalt Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and somatic and mindfulness-based therapies. I work with clients to choose the path that feels best for them and often integrate aspects from all of these approaches into my work with clients.
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I find Internal Family Systems and Gestalt Therapy to be powerful ways of understanding the human experience. Often, we come to therapy because we feel overwhelmed by the intensity and complexity of our emotional world. Or, maybe we seek counseling services because we feel an internal 'tug-of-war'. Sometimes our minds may feel like a tangled ball of yarn, composed of many different colored threads. If you think of this jumbled mess of colors as our thoughts, feelings, sensations, and impulses, then therapy is a place to begin to untangle this beautiful mess. Together in therapy, we patiently disentangle the various 'parts' of ourselves (the different colored yarn) and, eventually, befriend or make peace with these parts. Over time, we learn that we have immense internal resources and are more resilient than we might have imagined.
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The founder of Internal Family Systems, Richard Schwartz, has said that there are 'No bad parts.' Let this sink in for a moment. We may feel broken or alone or ashamed or angry or jealous, but even the parts of ourselves that hold our biggest and most unlikeable emotions are not inherently bad. Even the destructive parts of ourselves are simply doing the best they can to keep us safe. If Internal Family Systems is used in our work together, we will spend time getting to know those parts of you that are using unhelpful tactics (i.e. avoidance, substance use, anger, violence, and other intense emotions or unhealthy coping strategies). By getting to know each unique color of yarn in our tangled system, we can begin to cultivate new relationships with our parts, helping to bring balance and self-leadership to our internal family.
Are you interested in learning more about the approaches I use? Check out my Resources page for links to helpful videos.
My areas of specialization include:
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Perfectionism & Shame
Trauma & PTSD
Generalized Anxiety, Social Anxiety Disorder,
OCD, and Specific Phobias
Depression
Grief Processing
Chronic Illness & Pain
Let's talk privilege...
For too long, the counseling profession has overlooked the complexities of power dynamics and identity in the therapeutic relationship. I recognize that this has caused harm in the past and slowly, gradually, the counseling profession is reckoning with the role it has played in perpetuating the systemic oppression of clients with marginalized identities.
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I strive to maintain a social justice-oriented framework in my practice. I acknowledge that identity, privilege, and power are always present in the counseling space. As a white, cisgender, able-bodied woman living with chronic pain, I hold both privileged and marginalized identities. I will do my best to acknowledge and discuss the ways that our identities show up in the room and in the work we do.
I value curiosity and I recognize that I can not truly know what it is like to walk in your shoes. I am eager and willing to hear what you would like to share with me, about how your identities have shaped your experience in the world and, on a smaller scale, in our therapeutic relationship. If, at any point, you feel that your identities would best be understood by another therapist, I encourage you to follow that feeling and find the best possible fit.