I help my clients alleviate anxiety, both chronic and brought on by life changes and transitions. My approach is to help cultivate a sense of inner-safety. Safety is growth promoting, as well as necessary for the deeper work of addressing pain and patterns. It also feels good to feel safe.
I work with individuals and couples to manage stress related to:
- relationships, including starting, struggling with or grieving a relationship. I work well with people who often feel anxious our distant in relationships.
- family and parenting, including growing a family and responding to a family's changing needs. I have particular experience with new parents, single parents, and coming to parenting through alternative routes such as single-by-choice parents and queer families.
- career and education, including career transition and academic stress. I specifically work with individuals to navigate the application process, manage test-taking anxiety, and approach large projects with calm and ease.
Read more below about my specific approach and orientation. Or, contact me for an initial conversation.
My approach to therapy is resource oriented. Simply, a resource is something that helps you feel good inside. Exercise, relationships, creativity, nature, cognitive understanding, and spiritual practices are some areas of resource. Focusing on resources does not mean pushing away or ignoring negative or painful experiences; rather it provides conditions needed for those things to be processed and integrated. I am passionate about self-care, and support my clients in finding small and big ways integrate resources into their lives. I also act as a resource by being a safe person to talk to. Being resource oriented supports my clients in feeling grounded, contained, present and safe while navigating emotional territory. For many this is a new experience. Find out more about developing resources here.
One of my core principles is client-centeredness. For me, this means holding trust that each person knows what is best in their life. As a therapist, I support my client in accessing this knowledge by guiding the process of therapy. I may have priorities (such as safety), or suggestions (such as bringing awareness to the moment), but I prioritize the client's experience and understand therapy as a collaborative process with the client's needs and experiences at the center.
I work in a way that is relational. I am profoundly influenced by attachment theory, which teaches that we are shaped in relationship from before we are born until the day we die. In the same way that we are hurt in relationships, we can be healed in them. Attachment theory also teaches that there are specific ways of relating that lead to the experience of safety and security, such as empathy, non-judgment and unconditional acceptance. I intentionally bring these ways of relating into therapy with the hope that it will provide a positive, healing experience.
I also work somatically, which means that I work in a way that keeps the body in mind. This may mean talking about the nervous system, tending to the breath, or bringing awareness to the body's sensations, feelings and images. I am struck by the body's natural intelligence, and understand it as a powerful resource. I also work in a way that is trauma informed. I have a solid understanding of the impact of trauma, and the role of therapy in understanding and resolving it.