I hope I can be of help!

I know that taking the step to begin therapy can be really hard, because... feelings. We have them, whether we want to or not. And sometimes they are hard! Understanding our thoughts and our behaviors can also be hard. And making changes to improve our lives may sometimes be the hardest of all.

So my job as a therapist, first and foremost, is to acknowledge that this is hard, and to validate your feelings, whatever they are. I will sit in the feelings with you--whether they be devastating, infuriating, frustrating, stress-filled, even numb--or full of laughter and joy too. (Because sometimes our positive feelings are also hard, and making space for them and understanding them is important too.) I will also get to know you and your story, the people and things that are important to you, and help you set goals around what you want to focus on. We'll work on those goals when we meet (though if sometimes we can't, because there's an unrelated thought or feeling that needs attention, we'll take a pause on goals and focus on what's in front of us). Those goals can shift over time, too. They might include learning skills, moving through difficult experiences, or utilizing different therapeutic techniques--or whatever else you might need.

In terms of clinical experience and expertise, I have the most experience working with trauma, especially from forms of gender-based violence like sexual assault and relationship abuse. I also have many years of experience working with individuals who have experienced marginalization due to their gender or sexual identities: transgender women and men, non-binary individuals, cisgender women, and individuals who identify as queer, lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual, or a variety of other identities. I have worked a great deal with undergraduate and graduate students as well as professionals working in academia, and I work well with adults of all ages and professions, as well as adolescents and occasionally couples. I also have developed more recent interests in working with neurodivergent individuals, individuals with chronic illness, and individuals who have experienced or are experiencing infertility. (I also provide an advocacy service for some of these latter areas.) Some diagnoses I commonly work with are anxiety disorders, mood disorders, PTSD, ADHD, and gender dysphoria.

Sometimes people want to know about my clinical expertise or the therapeutic modalities I typically use. The core of my therapeutic work is person-centered, strengths-based, and eclectic, meaning that my client is in the driver's seat, that I'm empowering them to take the lead in therapy, and that the therapeutic approach I use is tailored to that person and may vary in modality based on their specific needs. (Strengths-based is strengths-based!) I also aim to work as much as possible from a social justice framework, so sometimes we may talk about the ways that systems and forms of oppression and marginalization surrounding an individual are contributing to the things that are making life difficult. I try to draw upon techniques and tools from the cognitive-behavioral forms of therapy (CBTs), with a particular interest in dialectical-behavioral therapy (DBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), as well as training in some trauma-specific forms of CBT, including cognitive processing therapy (CPT), prolonged exposure (PE) therapy, and trauma-focused CBT for youth (TF-CBT). I also draw upon techniques from motivational interviewing, bring mindfulness into therapy whenever I can, and, when working with couples, align most closely with the Gottman method. I lastly have experience bringing expressive arts into therapeutic practice and am willing to do so on request.

As I said in my bio , I do this work because I think people are fascinating and amazing, and I love learning about people. You will find that when you meet with me, I often ask, "How are you?" Hopefully, I will show you that I always really want to know the answer to that question (and that everyone else really ought to start asking that question with true intent and meaning behind it).