Therapy

SPECIALITY AREAS

I specialize in helping clients work through: complex trauma/attachment trauma, depression/suicidal ideation/self-harm, anxiety, and dissociation. Secondary areas that I specialize in are: substance use/addictions and neurodivergence/ADHD. I also specialize in career counseling.

I primarily work with clients who have experienced childhood and attachment trauma and struggle with low self-esteem.

THERAPEUTIC APPROACH

My approach to therapy includes a past, present, and future lens. I primarily use the following types of therapies: Psychodynamic, Ego State, and Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR). The space I hold for my clients during session is one driven by the Gestalt Therapy technique of Here & Now, where I lean into attunement of what's happening in the room and have clients notice what they are experiencing. I help clients gain self-awareness and choice, which is a critical part of living a congruent life.

Some foundational beliefs I hold for clients in my therapy space: YOU are LOVED, come as you are, you are not alone and I see you.

WHO I AM AS A COUNSELOR

Key Characteristics: Trauma-Informed. Warm. Open-minded. Attuned. Intentional. Perceptive. Goal-oriented. Direct.

I am NOT a talk therapist, except for the moments it's needed and in your best interest. Most talk therapy takes place in the beginning of us working together and when life throws curveballs. We need moments to process life as it is happening, but we also need to move towards the deeper-rooted issues that are interrupting your present life, so you can move towards a more congruent future. The goal is to progress and heal. For you to have autonomy and self-agency over your life.

I do not ask anything of my clients, that I would not be willing to engage in myself. I believe each person’s story can be transformed and that we are capable of rewriting our stories, thus living lives that are more congruent with our personalities, values, and beliefs.

MOTIVATION & INVESTMENT

You get out, what you put in... and I am there (ready) with you!

I hold the belief that you are the expert of your life, and that I get to walk alongside you in this season of life. I am here to help you process life, explore its impact on you, help you identify how to live a more congruent life, and help you heal from the impact life/trauma has had on you. There is only one you; therefore no exact science on how you will heal best. There's research, resources, theories, and interventions that guide our time together, but they will need to be specifically tailored to meet your unique story and needs. I cannot live your life for you, nor can I decide what is best for you, as you are the one that lives with consequences of your choices; therefore, I am simply an honored guide who gets to support you while you seek to live the most congruent life you can.

THERAPEUTIC OUTCOMES

What I help clients gain through the therapy process: increased self-awareness; healthier relational boundaries; better emotion regulation skills; decreased sx of depression and anxiety; increased congruency between actions, thoughts and feelings; and living a more present, adult life.

1. Increasing understanding of self, what's happened, and its impact on your life. This results in increased self awareness and increased tools for emotion regulation, healthier boundaries, self confidence, and navigating challenging relationships.
2. Increasing cohesion between thoughts, feelings, and choices. This often includes a better understanding of the role addiction may play in your life, including its purpose, benefit, and outcomes. And how to become more congruent in your desires and choices related to addiction.
3. Healing from the impact of what's happened in your life, enables you to live a more congruent life... A life with increased autonomy and self-agency.

In summary: I help people better understand themselves and where they have come from and get a better idea of where they would like to head. I am a season holder in people's lives and get the honor of walking alongside people during certain seasons of their life, to help them gain more autonomy, clarity, and congruency in their life.

FEES

$120 for a 50/60 minute session

Insurance accepted: Aetna

Out of network insurance: I am happy to put a superbill together, so you can send the invoice to your insurance company for possible reimbursement.

I will provide clients with a Good Faith Estimate prior to beginning therapy and at the beginning of each calendar year, per government regulations.

PROCESS

If our schedules allow for it, the first therapy session is a 90 minute holistic intake. The second session is a regular 50/60 minute session, where we collaborate about diagnosis (what best explains what's going on) and therapy goals AND step into the work of what brought you to therapy. 🙂

Sometimes, we decide 90 minute or 2 hour sessions are best and we switch to that timeframe, if schedules and budgets allow. 90 minute sessions are especially effective when actively implementing EMDR Therapy and focusing on phases 2 & 3 of therapy (see Therapeutic Outcomes above).

BUT, CAN I HEAL??

I often have clients who struggle to believe healing is possible. Healing is on a spectrum and while I agree that what's been done cannot be changed, I do believe that the impact it has on us can change.

It took me seeing several of the wrong fit therapists and years into my adult life for me to find the right therapist fit and the healing I needed. Once I found the right fit, it took us several years to work through buried attachment hurt (complex trauma) that was impacting my relationship with self and others. A combo of several factors, but primarily, my wonderful therapist, Ego State Therapy techniques and EMDR Therapy, truly helped me heal and step into my present adult self. My healing resulted in me being more self confident, secure in my relationships, and living a more congruent life.

I say this here, because, yes therapy is a lot of work... and time... and money. It is an investment that is hard most of the time... but one that can pay off in the end. It was a very worthwhile investment in my life and I do believe it works when we put in the time and effort! Which sometimes it takes time to get there. 😉