My Approach to Helping
Compassion and meaning set the stage for healing and solutions that really make a difference in the lives of the people I work with. Compassion is a focus on the emotional heart and meaning brings the intellect into play. I use my therapeutic compassion to create a safe space for our work and to model and teach a healthy and healing self-compassion that is an important foundation for positive change. Meaning brings clarity and focus to what needs to change and points us in the right direction. It also is unique to you and understanding what is most meaningful to you helps ensure that our work is about what you want and need. From this foundation, I use the tools of psychotherapy such as CBT, DBT and ACT to help you have the healing and changes that you are hoping for.
More Info About My Practice
In my work as a counselor, I draw from a variety of career and life experiences. These include several years in Human Resources management and consulting, which helps me in coaching high achievers or working with people whose issues are related to the workplace. I also worked for a homeless shelter and a social service agency after receiving my MSW from the University of Washington in 2001. As a result, I am experienced and confident in working with a diverse population and many different kinds of problems and many different approaches to helping with those problems. Over the past 6 years I have been working exclusively in private practice.
Importance of the Client-Therapist Alliance
One of the great things about being a therapist is that it is all about the relationship, or "therapeutic alliance". There are many aspects of therapy that are scientific and quantifiable, but the relationship is perhaps the most powerful. I believe in the idea of extending unconditional positive regard for the people who work with me, both because it is effective and because it comes naturally. I admire anyone who has the courage to face difficult issues and to strive for positive change. It is exciting to witness healing and growth and to be a partner and guide in that process.
