Services
- Individual
About My Clients
I work with many diagnoses but my main focus is trauma. I don't work with clients whose main issue is substance use. What I've found after 12+ years of doing this work is that it's less about what happens to us and more about what we take away from experiences and internalize. I really enjoy helping people find new reasons to be optimistic about their future as they navigate the transitions of adult life.
My Background and Approach
I approach therapy in layers - 1, we'll use CBT to identify thought patterns and respond to them differently in the moment. 2, Taking a depth approach to look at how certain beliefs and narratives were formed in your life and whether they're still true or useful for you. Where most people get stuck is when we have these stories about ourselves or the world that are tied to the hard things we’ve gone through, because they *feel* true. Therapy doesn’t work by trying to erase or rewrite it, it works by comparing your experiences of when that’s been true or not. There’s a structure to it, and I really try to give clients the tools therapists use to understand themselves. I also emphasize self-compassion. People generally blame themselves to feel they have some control, but I really try to differentiate a client’s natural sense of wanting to better themselves from energy that’s just anger directed at themselves. It's about integrating your goals and energy.
My Personal Beliefs and Interests
I'm non-religious, politically leftist (but just to be clear, I'm not here to influence anyone's beliefs, that's not the point of therapy.). I care deeply about racial equity in healthcare. I lived in Seattle from 2010-2020 but grew up in a farming town near Pittsburgh. My undergrad degree was in music, and I always vibe with people who need to have creative projects in their lives. I also grew up playing hockey and other sports and value staying active and living clean. I was adopted and love working with adoptees. Also, I don't consider myself an expert on any particular culture but I have a lot of experience working with immigrants and people who speak English as a secondary language.