My Approach to Helping
It is a deep privilege to be a therapist and I cannot imagine doing any greater work. In my Private Practice, I am dedicated to creating and maintaining an environment of security, authenticity and peace. Ultimately a space that allows for non-judgmental exploration of your story. I am here to meet you where you are, to walk next to you and to aid in your healing and growth.
Through the therapeutic relationship, there are opportunities for introspection, reflection, change and healing. I view the therapy process through a relational lens and work from an Attachment Based and Trauma-Informed perspective; therefore, I take into account how the various relationships and events in your life, beginning with your family of origin, may have impacted you and whether there are present struggles related to past events. Although I recognize that we cannot change the past, I truly believe and moreover have borne witness to the positive impact the therapy process can have in terms of unburdening and allowing for the healing of past wounds, thus enabling one to be more fully present to the here and now.
More Info About My Practice
My Private Practice is located just outside of downtown Franklin, TN. I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I hold a Master's of Marriage and Family Therapy from Lipscomb University, I am Level I and II trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), I am also trained in Somatic Experiencing® and recognized as a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional through the International Association of Trauma Professionals.
My session fee is $140 per hour (60 minutes). I accept cash, check, credit card or HSA cards. I currently do not accept insurance, but can give a providers statement to be filed, by you, to your insurance company to inquire about potential reimbursement.
What I Love about Being a Psychotherapist
Let me put it this way: Everything. Although, like everyone else, I have days that I am tired, days that I would love to stay curled up at home with a good book and a mug of coffee, I never begrudge going into the office to do the work that I do. To be the person that gets chosen to bear witness to ultimate vulnerability is a gift. I have had friends and family ask me "how do you sit all day and listen to the things you do?" and my answer is always the same "because it is worth it and there is nothing more I would want to do." I have been in therapy for myself and I know first hand the screening process I go through to attempt to find a therapist that I hope can meet me where I am, that can be all the things I need him or her to be in order to provide me with enough comfort to open the dark places inside of me. So when a client chooses me to be that person, I am humbled. I have a career in which I bear witness, yes to pain but also to new life. I hold firm that as along as my people are showing up, change will come, healing will come, peace will come and from the first session to the last, I am thankful that I get to do this work.
Why Going to Therapy Does Not Mean You are Weak or Flawed
Although there is an increase of positive regard for therapy, there is still an unfortunate stigma that those who are in therapy or thinking of entering therapy must be weak or inherently flawed as a person, couple, or family. This is so far from the truth. If there is one thing I can say with complete honesty about those that enter into my therapy office, it is that they are some of the most courageous, strong, and driven people I know.
Going to therapy does not make you weak, it does not mean that there is anything more wrong with you than the next person, in fact, what it means is that you are brave, that you recognize you cannot do it alone, and that you are vulnerable enough to let another into your story to walk with you on this part of your journey. As a therapist, I consider this a great honor.
As human beings, we are meant to be in relationship, and many times different forms of relationships serve as vehicles for support, transformation, and to speak healing into our lives - therapy is one such relationship. There is a quote which I believe sums up the therapy process, it reads: "In the end, we are all just walking each other home." To me, this quote recognizes that we meet in the therapy process on common terms - we meet as people, striving for healing, attempting to make meaning, and desiring hope and change. Their is no greater gift we can give ourselves and those in relationship with us.
