My Approach to Helping
I help children and adults who struggle with anxiety, depression, and trauma by providing encouraging and effective support.
I work with children and adults who struggle with anxiety, depression, trauma, or relationship struggles by providing supportive and strengths-based services. I specialize in an integrative approach which means we work together to identify what techniques will support you best. I have worked in public education and social work for over 20 years and will bring an array of experience to our work together. My commitment is to provide a comprehensive, holistic space for growth and to support you or your child in overcoming challenges and learning to thrive.
More Info About My Practice
How I Work
With young children, I use play therapy to support self-expression, build resilience, and support behavioral choices. For older children, teens, and adults, I use a combination of approaches depending on the client's interests, strengths, and needs. These may include mindfulness, talk therapy, EMDR, and expressive therapies such as sandtray, sewing, art, collage, or writing. All my work comes from the viewpoint of relational neuroscience which takes current brain science and turns it into effective therapy! We will work with understanding the nervous system and its relationship to the brain and behavior. Some clients like to hear a lot about the science. Others aren't as interested in that side of things. Either way, I work to create a safe and nurturing place to support you or your child as you heal and grow.
My Experience
I have worked with children, teens, and adults for almost two decades. I have worked in schools, homes, clinics, homeless family shelters, crisis shelters, out in the community, and in private practice. I have supported people from all types of backgrounds and situations living in big cities, small towns, and in between places like Santa Barbara. Yes, I have moved around a lot, but I grew up in Santa Barbara, and I am back to stay. All of these experiences, coupled with my personal journey, have given me tools to support others and have helped me develop a solid optimism about our potential to heal. Change is possible!
My View on the Purpose of Psychotherapy
I believe that inside each person there is a natural impulse toward health and healing. Sometimes this impulse has been covered over by the stressors of life. The process of therapy is like cleaning the debris out of a spring; it helps bring back the "flow" that is inherent to each person. And my approach to therapy is gentle and impactful. We will follow your inner world's wisdom, honoring the protective instincts, and moving toward growth.
My View on the Nature of 'Disorders'
The language of modern psychology is very pathologizing and doesn't honor the honest roots of many of our struggles. I view our "pathologies" as protective instincts that made a lot of sense at the time they came into being. Many of our troubling behaviors arose during moments of high stress and a lack of support. Therapy is a process of getting enough support and creating enough safety so that these protectors can relax, and we can begin to heal.
