Thank you for checking out my profile! I have been working in the mental health field for 15 years and opened my private practice as a Licensed Professional Counselor in Virginia six years ago. I also teach as a professor at a private university as I earned my PhD in psychology. Many clients come to see me for anxiety, social skills, trauma, and grief. I enjoy working with teens and young adults, as well as older populations and couples.
When working with clients, my focus is on the whole person. I walk with my clients through all aspects of their mental health, including understanding how their physical and spiritual lives affect their mental health. I will refer as appropriate to physicians and spiritual leaders. I do present with a biblical worldview but work with individuals from all different backgrounds. My goal is to always ensure my clients feel cared for, safe, and able to express themselves fully to bring about their healing. I consider therapy a journey, not a solution, and my goal is always to empower my clients and work myself out of a job!
First sessions with me are all about getting to know you and build rapport. I ask a lot of questions, and help set gentle boundaries and expectations in the session. Clients can ask me questions to get know me, and as appropriate, I will answer those questions. The goal is to feel as conversational as possible and note key issues/struggles that we can work on in our future sessions. Clients always set the pace of counseling, including what they choose to disclose in the first session.
