Helping People Find Therapists & Advocating for Ethical and Healthy Therapy & Marriage Counseling Practices

My Approach to Helping

All of us have the need for secure and loving relationships, and the need for intimacy with family, friends and others. The desire to feel loved, understood and cared for are the vary emotions that make us human. For some, it may be hard to recognize these emotional needs and have them met in a positive non-destructive manner. Not having these needs met can contribute to feelings of sadness, loneliness, depression and low self worth, and self harming behaviors such as alcoholism and drug abuse. I am passionate about the healing power of therapy and the therapeutic relationship as a way

--to listen and respect your own feelings, thoughts and experiences
--learn how to respond to needs in ways that make you feel restored and taken care of
--experience new ways of feeling and thinking about your need and desire for intimacy and attachment
--have a safe place to gain understanding of yourself, and the experience of being listened to with empathy and acceptance

Some of my clients come to see me because of depression and feeling overwhelmed; others have grown up in an alcoholic home and feel self doubt and criticism in all aspects of their lives. Couples enter therapy when their relationship is not working and they long for more closeness and emotional intimacy. Single clients come to therapy to gain new understanding of what they want in a potential partner. And mothers and parents benefit from therapy as way to cope with the demands and stress of family, relationships and careers. I help people understand and solve these problems by offering a safe place to talk about their feelings and thoughts, and validate their experience with empathy and acceptance.

 

More Info About My Practice

Therapy is a very private matter, and for that reason I do not participate in insurance reimbursement. Please visit my web site for a list of questions that you may use to determine if your insurance pays for some portion of mental health therapy through reimbursement to you directly. I also have worked with Employee Assistance Programs with an out-of-network contract. I offer a free 30 minute consultation to discuss the possibility of our working together.

 

What I Love about Being a Psychotherapist

It takes a lot of courage for clients to seek help with serious problems and difficulties, with the hope that support and change is possible. Over a period of weeks and months, I engage with my clients to listen and learn, and deeply understand the specific ways that they are suffering. For some of my clients, being taken seriously and having their feelings, emotions and thoughts considered, validated and shared with another person is a new experience. The look that I see on my client’s face when they have a glimpse of being seen for their authentic self is what I love about being a therapist. I treasure this moment because of what it means for our work together; from here, the therapy is an experience that is co-created between the client and me. Out of this new shared understanding of emotions, feelings and thoughts comes new ways of processing and experiencing every day situations. For me, being a therapist is about being a witness to profound changes that I see in my clients. These moments of change, hope and possibility continue to be what I love most about the work of therapy.

 

My Role as a Therapist

I believe my role as a therapist is to foster the relationship between me and my client that allows for healing and promotes positive well being. This relationship is one of the most important aspects of psychotherapy because the healing work of therapy can only happen when there is an effective positive relationship between client and therapist. Our most primary relationship, between child and parent, is how we learn to be valued, cared for and feel secure. In some cases, this early template is not sufficient for managing problems of living, recognizing emotions and feelings and participating in meaningful relationships with others. My role as therapist provides the experience of having thoughts and feelings validated, honored and known by being in relationship with one another to allow for an increase in well being and an authentic experience of ones’ self.

Services I Provide

• Individual Therapy & Counseling
• Marriage, Couples, or Relationship Counseling

Ages I Work With

• Adults

Languages I Speak

• English

Groups I Work With

Adults with life transitions, Adult Children of Alcoholics, alcoholics and those in early recovery, mothers and parents with parenting concerns and couples with intimacy issues

Therapy Approaches I Use

• Depth Therapy
• Emotion Focused Therapy
• Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy
• Parent Work
• Psychodynamic

Concerns & Issues I Help With

• Life Changes
• Attachment
• Anxiety, Fear, & Stress
• Family Problems
• Relationships & Marriage
• Depression & Mood
• Addictions & Compulsions
• Emotion Management
• Self-Esteem & Confidence
• Social Skills & Problems
• Health & Body
• Identity Issues