Services
- Individual
About My Clients
I have worked extensively with people who are dealing with depression and anxiety, as well life-transitions. I have intensive training and experience helping those with trauma, including those who have survived child abuse and neglect, sexual assault, combat-related trauma, and moral injury. Given my extensive work with Veterans and on an orthopedic/spinal service, I also have much experience addressing chronic pain. For the past decade, I’ve also specialized in LGBTQ+-affirming care.
My Background and Approach
My approach above all is based in compassion and understanding within the humanistic tradition - and is also evidence-based, incorporating Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and trauma-focused interventions like Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure. When working with families who are struggling to parent young children I rely on Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), a therapy I have used in much of my career. Whether we are working on insight, practical strategies and solutions, skill building, value clarification, or mindfulness techniques, we will do so collaboratively. You set the pace for our work together. I am sex-positive, kink-positive, and poly-affirming in psychotherapy. For trans patients, I am very familiar with medical transition and can provide letters to support interventions.
My Personal Beliefs and Interests
Psychology has allowed me to combine my love of learning with my passion for helping others and my commitment to social justice. I was inspired mostly by my grandfather, a staunch advocate in the battle for Civil Rights in this country. My career has included clinical care, teaching, leadership, and advocacy, and supporting military and veteran communities, including military families, and most recently standing up to discriminatory practices recently introduced at the VA. As a member of the LGBTQ community, I am committed to creating safe spaces to explore identity and sexuality wherever you may fall on the gender-sexuality spectrum. Volunteer work is important to me, and I spent several years recently volunteering with refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Sudan. I coordinated a weekly ESL outreach program, and I was on the board of Hampton Roads Refugee Relief. This experience emphasized the importance of cultural humility, openness, and social justice.