Professional Support for When Life Isn’t Going Your Way.
Who I Work With
Many people find it hard to name exactly what’s bringing them into therapy often noting that life just feels too hard. You don’t have to be in a state of crisis to receive support or have a diagnosis on hand to be taken seriously. The clients I work with generally come to me with hopes of receiving the following:
Therapy for life transitions.
Grief counseling for unmet expectations.
Help with feeling stuck in life.
Support for emotional burnout or burnout recovery.
Counseling for grief over the life you thought you’d have.
Tools and skills for improving communication.
A safe space to process childhood events and experiences.
Clarity on how to reach their goals.
A better understanding of their emotions.
If any of this resonates with you then you are in the right place.
My Approach
I approach therapy through an Internal Family Systems lens. This theory states that our psyche can be broken down into different parts - those parts may get along or they may disagree with one another. Ever felt at war with yourself? Maybe a part of you wants to stay up late to watch your favorite movie, but part of you thinks you should decide to go to sleep instead since you have to go to work the next day. That is a real life example of how parts might show up in our every day lives. My work makes space for every part of you, so that you can work towards living your life in the ways that are most meaningful to you. I’ve gone ahead and listed below some examples of my own parts that you can expect to see in the therapy room!
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Think traditional talk therapy. This part believes that healing can start through simply being heard. This part holds a lot of curiosity and compassion for you and genuinely wants to hear what you have to say! She will always strive to create a safe space for you to just be you - free of judgement.
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The part of me that absolutely loves skill building and sharing psychoeducation with my clients. This part is very informed, gets excited about taking continuing education courses, and delights in passing along this information to my clients. She is a firm believer in giving therapy homework, so that you can practice what we speak about outside of the therapy room.
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This part loves to bring creativity into the room and prefers to use experiential methods of treatment such as Internal Family Systems and Gestalt therapy. This part believes that it is extremely helpful to separate ourselves from our emotions, so that we can give them a closer look without judgement. She may ask questions like, “If we put your anxiety in front of you what would it look like?” Or “If your tears could speak what would they say?”
This theory is effective with any and all presenting mental health concerns. Why? Internal Family Systems (IFS) acknowledges the humanness of our mental health - that we learn to compartmentalize, learn how to adapt, and learn how to survive even if it’s not in the “healthiest” way. IFS would say that our mental health concerns are just internalized parts of ourselves doing their best to survive in this world based on their lived experiences. This is the beauty of IFS. It is a non pathologizing model, which is a fancy way of saying that this theory doesn’t put you in a box labeled “unwell” or “unhealthy.” It acknowledges that you, as a human being, are complex with a complex history. As a therapist, I have a fondness and deep appreciation for this perspective. It is a non-shaming and open-minded approach that I truly believe makes space for change and healing.
Prefer bullet points?
I have experience with:
Adult Life Transitions
Anxiety
Attachment Wounds
Bipolar Disorder
Decision Paralysis
Depression
Gender Identity & Expression
Health & Lifestyle Changes
Occupational Burnout
Parental Adjustment
Parental Uncertainty
Polyamory
Post-partum Depression
Repetitive Body-Focused Behaviors
Self-esteem Issues
Sex & Intimacy
Suicidal Ideation
Trauma Recovery
Specialty Populations
Adults Grieving Dreams and Unmet Expectations
Adult Survivors of Emotional Neglect
You don’t need to have all the answers—or even the words—for what you experienced. Curiosity and willingness are more than enough to get started.