Services
- Individual
- Couples
- Family
- Adolescent/Teen
- Group
About My Clients
I often work with LGBTQIA+ or poly/ENM individuals and couples who often have attachment issues or deep trauma. Sometimes this trauma can look like or be combined with something else like depression, anxiety, or other issues. The clients I work with want to get to the causes of their issues and deal with those roots in order to live better lives. Couples/polycules are interested in learning how to be a good partner, change relational labels, or deal with stresses.
My Background and Approach
I have an eclectic background, having started learning to be a therapist in my mid 30s. A few of the most influential things I have studied are the history of Western thought, Eastern classical texts, how to let reality guide my thinking, and a number of forms of meditation (Vipassana, Mahamudra, and Dzogchen). I try to act as a guide to a client's own experience. I cannot know what anyone else experiences, but I can offer helpful suggestions and ask questions. I start slow, connecting with clients and getting on the same page about what they want out of therapy. This will often include Motivational Interviewing which can help move the desires the clients already have into action. I then often end up working with them to accept reality including their desire for change. I then move to processing trauma once the client has enough stability. With relational clients, I often focus on skill building, learning healthy empathy, and healthy communication.
My Personal Beliefs and Interests
I believe in doing the hard work to find truth. My opinions often get in the way, but I work to separate thoughts from reality and let reality be my guide. I am a mindfulness practitioner and through trying many practices, I have learned to find joy in any moment I remember to drop into the present moment and notice that thinking is just thinking. This experience is difficult to convey in words, as it goes beyond them, but it has shown me that personal freedom is available at any moment. I think some people call this the path of the bodhisattva. I have not gone far on that path, but the beginning of being there is interspersed with moments of ease. I am part of the LGBTQIA+ and poly/ENM communities and try to support them and the individuals therein. There are so many of us and we all come from such different backgrounds. I find it important to learn to create bridges between us and help repair chasms that form. I know ease, love, and joy can be found relationship.