What's My Approach to Therapy?
In my years of specializing in trauma and abuse, I have found that the most successful individuals often feel the most isolated by their experiences. My philosophy is simple: You should not have to choose between your professional excellence and your personal healing.
I believe that a traumatic event—whether it be a single crisis, a history of abuse, or a profound loss—is an extraordinary experience that requires a specialized, clinical response to become "normal." My approach is to meet you at the intersection of your high-functioning life and your most difficult moments. By combining the structure of grief recovery with the depth of hypnotherapy and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), we create a space where your history can be processed with dignity, discretion, and profound expertise. Healing is the ultimate high-performance act. You are used to being the most capable person in the room, but trauma does not respond to willpower. If a crisis, loss, or history of abuse has begun to compromise your focus and well-being, you need more than just "talk therapy." I provide a sophisticated, clinical approach to help high-achievers normalize and integrate traumatic events.
With a Ph.D in Counseling Education and Supervision, I specialize in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), hypnotherapy, and grief loss recovery. My expertise covers the spectrum of trauma—including intimate partner violence (IPV), domestic violence, and abuse—offering a discreet, expert-level space to stabilize your nervous system and reclaim your edge. Let's move past "coping," and get back to operating at your full potential.
What I Love about Being a Psychotherapist
Why I Love This Work
People often ask what draws me to the world of psychotherapy, especially when working with the complexities of trauma and high-level performance. For me, the answer is simple: I believe in the profound power of the human spirit to rewrite its own story.
There is a unique kind of magic that happens when a driven, goal-oriented person decides to turn that same determination inward. I love being a psychotherapist because:
I witness the "Unburdening": There is nothing quite like the moment a high performer realizes they don't have to carry their past as a shield or a weight anymore. Watching that tension leave a client?s shoulders as they reclaim their energy is a true honor.
I believe in Resilience: I am constantly in awe of the capacity we have to face traumatic events and, with the right support, transform that pain into a new kind of wisdom and strength.
I value the Partnership: I don't see myself as the "expert" on your life; I see myself as a seasoned guide. Walking alongside you as you navigate the path from "surviving" to "thriving" is the most rewarding work I can imagine.
I am inspired by Growth: Whether it?s helping a client reach a personal breakthrough or watching a Registered Intern find their clinical confidence in our Gainesville office, being a witness to growth is why I show up every day.
Being a therapist isn't just my profession?it is my way of contributing to a world where people feel empowered to lead lives defined by their dreams, not their wounds.
Why Going to Therapy Does Not Mean You are Weak or Flawed
Strength in the Struggle: A Different Perspective on Therapy
In a world that prizes "grind" and "resilience," it is easy to mistake seeking support for a sign of weakness. However, for the high performer, therapy is not a sign that you are flawed; it is a sign that you are courageous.
True strength is not the absence of struggle?it is the willingness to confront it.
Think of therapy as the ultimate "performance review" for your inner world. Just as an elite athlete works with a coach to refine their form or a CEO hires a consultant to streamline their business, therapy is a strategic choice to refine your mental and emotional wellbeing.
Why Seeking Support is an Act of Power:
The Weight of History: Carrying the weight of a past traumatic event takes an immense amount of energy. Choosing to process that trauma isn't "giving up"?it?s deciding that your energy is better spent on your future than on your survival.
The Limits of Willpower: You cannot "willpower" your way through a nervous system response. Acknowledging this isn't a failure of character; it?s an understanding of human biology.
The Pursuit of Excellence: High performers go to therapy because they refuse to let anything?including their past?limit their potential.
You aren't here because you are "broken." You are here because you are ready to be whole.
Why this resonates:
Reframing: By using metaphors like "performance reviews" and "elite athletes," you speak the language of a high achiever.
De-stigmatization: It shifts the narrative from "clinical pathology" to "personal optimization."
Empowerment: It validates that their current "stuckness" is a biological response to trauma, not a flaw in their drive or ambition.
