Therapy options

  • Who I work with

    This is a safe space for everyone.

    We are all human and I have enjoyed learning from my clients as much as I hope they learn from me. I welcome you as you are, and our focus will always be your priority.

    I have been working in the field for over 10 years, beyond my 10 years of education and training, and have worked with clients ages 2 years old (working with the child and family) up until 90 years old! I attained both my Master and Doctoral degrees from William James College.

    Currently, I am accepting adult clients and a limited number of teenagers ages 15-18 on a case-to-case basis. Please note that teenagers will only be seen in person.

    Virtual sessions for those 18 and over are available during the morning/early afternoon hours and hybrid is also an option that can be discussed.

    I have experience working with people from the LGBTQIA+ community. I am kink-aware and have worked with individuals exploring open and polyamorous relationships.

    I welcome all forms of first responders from dispatchers, police, firefighters, EMTs, veterans, and medical staff.

    I have experience and really enjoy working with clients from all ethnicities and religions. I am culturally aware and make efforts to educate myself on the continued oppression in this world and also in the field of medical and mental health. I am very aware of my privilege as an educated white woman in a position of power and I try my best to use that as a tool to help make change and support clients in need. I hope my clients find my sessions to be a safe place where hard topics about racism and prejudice can be discussed and it be a safe holding space. I always want to learn from my clients about their cultures and values but also know it is not my client’s job to educate me.

  • Diagnosis and areas I work with

    I am very passionate about helping clients who have experienced trauma in their lives. Many people think this just means war or sexual abuse. It includes all forms of trauma such as sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, neglect, domestic violence, discrimination and prejudice due to how one identifies, racism, loss of a loved one due to suicide, overdose, illness, and other unexpected and expected reasons, war, natural disasters, divorce, medical diagnosis such as cancer, chronic medical illness, abortions and miscarriages, and bullying. I have worked with all of the above.

    I have extensive experience working with trauma/post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complex PTSD, depression, anxiety, life stress, and grief and loss. A newer focus within the last 3 years has been increasing my knowledge and skills in working with clients with ADHD and autism.

    A diagnosis is not defining! It helps us understand the symptoms you are dealing with but it does not define you. I enjoy helping my clients learn why they may have certain behaviors and feel or think certain ways. We figure out which skills you may need to add to your life and what works best for you as an individual.

    Let’s help you learn about yourself better, figure out what your values are and who your genuine self is, and then peel away the layers left by negative experiences with others.

  • In person and tele-health options

    I am a big believer that therapy should be in person. This world has become so fast paced and full of electronics that it has sped up the already fast world, so that people can squeeze therapy into their 20-minute lunch break.

    I feel it’s important to have a safe space to engage in therapy, one that is not covered in all the stress and thoughts of the day at home or work. Coming to the office is a form of self-care, where you block out the world for a while and really take the time for yourself to sit with your thoughts, and emotions, or even just to breathe. However, I am open to full telehealth and hybrid options because I also know the reality of having to work and people who have many obligations. We can discuss your options and needs during our consultation. I look forward to talking with you.

  • Parent support

    Is your child or teenager struggling? Sometimes talking with a professional to try to figure out what is going on and learn some tools you can use as a parent can be helpful. Changing the family dynamic or the language or style of speaking can have a big impact in helping a teen open up more to you and even possibly consider therapy.

    Parent/guardian sessions don’t have to be weekly. We can work on creating a plan with tools for you to use and meet every other week or monthly, as needed.

  • Safe and Sound Protocol

    The Safe and Sound Protocol is a program involving filtered music that helps the body’s nervous system reregulate. It includes a minimum of 7 sessions, usually more, ranging from 15 minutes to an hour depending on how you and I feel your body is progressing through the program. The length of time it takes to complete the program varies from client to client, with the minimum time spent being two sessions a week up to a couple of months as well as independent listening in between. This program was initially developed for children on the autism spectrum to help with sensory processing and emotional dysregulation. Then it was discovered it works for a wider variety of mental health challenges including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is an evidence-based approach.

    Please watch the video below for more information.

    Safe and Sound explained

  • Modalities I use

    I am an eclectic therapist, meaning I pull from a lot of different styles of therapy. I use evidence-based approaches including aspects from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness, Motivational interviewing, art therapy, and Somatic Experiencing (body-based therapy). Explanations of each can be found on the Types of therapy page.


Groups!

Please see below for information about future groups

It is my goal to start conducting groups fall 2024

Space for first responders

What is the largest cause of Trauma??……………………

Silence and secrets.

You know as a first responder, when you see danger and abuse and trauma, it’s because secrets and silence were kept.

Don’t keep living in silence.

The only thing needed to help you heal is to start the conversation.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking you are the only one. What I hear about from my clients are the things you see, touch, and smell. Our brains are built to remember those types of experience in an effort to protect you. But who do you turn to when YOU are the protector? The one who is meant to be strong and impenetrable. You are still human, and no amount of alcohol and bad habits are going to erase those memories. The only way to help them stay in the past and not be so loud is to bring them to light and talk about the challenges it takes doing your kind of work. Learn from the Fox, strength is vulnerability.

Neurodivergent support group for a world that tries to put you in a box

There are lots of tools and coping skills you can learn to “fit in” in a neurotypical world that expects you to be just like them. But the beauty of this world is that we are all not the same! We all have amazing interests and opinions to share with the world. When you are feeling like the world just does not get you this may be the group for you. It will be an evolving support group dependent on what the attendees would like to focus on. This may mean just having a space to geek out on your favorite interests to talking about how you deal in a box filled world.

LGBTQIA+ Support group

Despite progress being made we know there is a still a lot of hate, discrimination, and microaggressions happening in the world. This group will be an ever-evolving group for teenagers and young adults. This will be a safe space for individuals who identify as LGBTQIA+ to come together to find support and community.

Grief group

Learn about healthy healing and grieving. Do you feel like you have been doing it wrong? Good news, there is no wrong way to grieve! The hard part comes in when society tells us how we should or shouldn’t feel and when someone has been grieving “too long” or “should have gotten over it by now”. Grief is an important process after you have lost a loved one. You grieve because you CARED so much! The challenge comes when your grief turns into something more like depression or you stay stuck in guilt for many things you wish you did or didn’t do. Let’s help heal together and learn to honor our loved ones while still moving forward with life.

Dealing with a Chronic Illness

Have you or a loved one recently been diagnosed with a chronic or terminal illness or suffering with it for years? You are on autopilot trying to figure out what to do and not able to process it on an emotional level? Or your loved one seems to dealing “fine” with the diagnosis but you feel like a complete mess and don’t know how to make it better? Depending on the interest of potential clients this may be one group or two, one for caregivers and one for the persons with the diagnosis.

Additionally, a parent support group for children with a cancer diagnosis is an option if there is enough interest.

Tea and Talk

Are you feeling lonely? Maybe you are a widow or widower, or your friends and family are passing away. You don’t need therapy, but you would like to have more meaning conversations other than talking about your aches and pains?!?! This will be a small group that meets to have tea and chat about topics other than the news and surface. Let’s honor your life and what you may have to add to the conversation! I will have topics for each group to start us off and then we can go from there.