Services
- Individual
About My Clients
To explain who I am as a therapist, I reflect back on my role as an educator. In the classroom, there was a movement for the teacher to be less of a “sage on the stage” (teacher-centered approach) and more of a “guide on the side” (student-centered). To me, therapy is a lesson plan for a learning experience. It's a guide to developing what the client needs to learn in order to cope with whatever barriers are showing up in the client's life.
My Background and Approach
I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC). I worked as a teacher for over 15 years before making the journey into a community mental health career. I have experience in mobile crisis response, trauma, forensic mental health, and LGBTQ+ issues. My therapeutic perspective is to provide empathetic, non-judgmental, compassionate guidance and support in an atmosphere of respect and safety while allowing clients to be the experts of their lives, much like “a co-pilot, a sous chef, or an assistant manager” of a client-therapist relationship. I use solution-focused elements to help move toward desired goals, cognitive-behavioral techniques to challenge unhelpful thoughts, and motivational interviewing to help gain understanding and clarity. Outside of traditional therapy, I enjoy the practices of mindfulness, guided meditation, aromatherapy, and Reiki.