Services
- Individual
- Couples
- Adolescent/Teen
- Group
About My Clients
My practice is a space for transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people to navigate gender affirmation journeys and/or to receive support, empathy, and guidance. QTPOC are more than welcome. I specialize in helping people of all gender identities explore gender issues. I help transgender people navigate emotional growth before, during, and beyond transitions. Additionally, I provide long-term insight-oriented therapy for people experiencing all types of life changes.
My Background and Approach
I gained expertise in transgender health through my work in the Transgender Health Program at Fenway Health in Boston, and have worked with Austin-based organizations Out Youth and the Central Texas Transgender Health Coalition. My approach to counseling draws from multiple modalities, which I use with fluidity and responsiveness to clients’ needs. First and foremost I use a relational approach, which means that I value my relationship to each person as the key to inviting growth and change. My perspective is a feminist one that often sees individuals’ problems through a lens of social justice (meaning I understand that intense distress can come from experiences of oppression.)
My Personal Beliefs and Interests
I teach skills for dealing with difficult emotions and negative thoughts by employing tenets of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), but truth be told I believe these skills to be most effective when partnered with deeper exploration of where problems come from. Many unhealthy patterns of relating are rooted in childhood experiences, family-of-origin issues, and trauma. Therefore I call upon principles of psychodynamic therapy and healing centered engagement (a useful shift from “trauma-informed care”) to guide clients to new insights at their own pace.