I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has been formally practicing therapy for 5+ years; though I've been an informal therapist for family and friends since my adolescent years. I work mostly with teens and families with symptoms related to anxiety, depression, ADHD, by teaching DBT, CBT, ACT, and Executive Functioning skills. I have worked in an inpatient hospital and in a Partial Hospitalization Program. I am now focusing on building my private practice.
I am an empathic listener with a calming presence. I love getting to know you, the you that is deep inside that hardly anyone else gets to see. Instead of being your problem-solver or advice giver, I ask questions to help you come to your own decisions about what you want to do moving forward. I can help with grounding (mindfulness/meditation) when emotions get high, or just sit in silence with you. In my presence, you are encouraged to cry if your emotions take you there. If you are someone who over-apologizes, I will work with you on this to limit/decrease the use of them. While I do typically focus on talk/psychotherapy, there are times when we simply don't have the words... in these times, I do utilize experiential activities to help us dig deeper or explore more of an area that maybe hasn't been processed with words yet; this might be in the form of drawing, or music, or movement. There are also times that maybe you want some homework and I can provide worksheets or other assignments to work on between our sessions.
In our first session together, we'll start with introductions, and then I want to know more about what brings you to therapy. I'll share my general ideas for how I believe we can work through your goals and then I'll ask for your thoughts. At the end of the session, I will ask if you want to schedule your next session and there is NO PRESSURE/obligation to schedule.
