My Approach to Helping
As a therapist, I want to help people live their best lives, whatever that might look like for them. For some people, the work we do in therapy will be on managing sadness, stress, or worry; for some, it will be processing difficult life experiences; for others, it might involve improving relationships in their lives. Of course, the first step will be to ensure safety and address any unhealthy coping strategies they might have picked up along the way. I believe that teamwork makes the dream work and I always encourage a collaborative process, even when that means letting me know that some aspect of therapy isn’t working for you or a suggestion I made fell flat. I always want therapy to feel safe, authentic, and accepting for my clients; it might not always be comfortable, but growth rarely happens from your comfort zone. I work to see my clients as whole people with cultural contexts layered with individual beliefs and societal influences, all coming together to make the person sitting in front of me. I tailor treatment for each client individually, using a person-centered approach, and incorporate different elements of learning about how we think/feel/act (CBT), incorporating mindfulness, coping skills, and communication skills (DBT), and when necessary, working from a trauma-informed perspective (ARC).
A bit about me: I enjoy spending time outdoors, practicing yoga, and eating great Mexican food. I love a good podcast and watching any docu-series about true crime. Things I am trying to get better at: meditating, being a plant mom, and working out.