Sonja Walker,Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

My name is Sonja Walker. I am a licensed marriage and family therapist. I have been working within clinical practice for over 12 years. My experiences are with clients dealing with grief and ambiguous loss, mental health, trauma, divorce, attachment with relationships, parenting, crisis management, inpatient mental health, outpatientinpatient addiction treatment, transitional services for families dealing with incarceration or legal issues, sexuality concerns and multicultural family systems.

As a therapist, I don't believe in a one-size fits all mentality. I believe in assessing where someone is at and what they need. Many times I empower clients to tell me what they want to focus on and gauge the pace of therapy. I use a lot of attachment therapy and Internal Family Systems framework. I also utilize techniques with polyvagal theory, cognitive behavioral therapy, client-centered therapy, solution-focused therapy, narrative therapy, motivational interviewing, and emotionally focused therapy frameworks as well. Often during sessions too, we utilize strength-based techniques with skill building, mindfulness practices, and grounding techniques to make sure we are connecting within our bodies what we are feeling.

As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and specialized in addiction studies and criminal justice having twelve years experience within forensic psychology. I am well versed in providing clinical therapy for individuals experiencing mental health challenges, trauma, grief and loss, divorce, trauma, abandonment, neglect, foster family dynamics, families from diverse backgrounds, persons with addictions, children, adolescence, LGBTQA+ and issues within sexuality including couples and individuals going through transition.

I utilize within session a balanced approach between being warm and emphatic and also being direct. I am supportive and responsive to energy within the session, so I will adjust and ask questions in the moment when I sense something came up within your body during session. I also ask a lot of questions relating to feelings and making the connection to mindbody approaches. It's important to foster a safe and supportive space where there is a feeling of support and no judgement.

Throughout my career, I have always served in a capacity of connection through therapeutic services. My most rewarding challenges have been to work with very underserved populations that are in crisis. I have always appreciated that the meaning behind "crisis" means opportunity for change, so I appreciate working with clients to see opportunities as a way to change behaviors or dynamics of relationships that are no longer working for them. I am flexible and able to adjust my techniques to meet the unique needs of my client. Therapy is not a one size fits all. I am of the belief that everyone can change, resolve conflict, be a better version of themselves and most importantly HEAL.

I really adjust where the client is at and more importantly what they are looking to address either through goal setting, writing journals or homework exercises to think further about between sessions. It's important to balance just setting goals and not reflecting on areas a client has done well, so I many times highlight a lot of strength-based skills the client has which helps them through challenging experiences.

My clients can expect a very person-centered approach in understanding their family system and background. An understanding that this is a very collaborative process so we will go at the pace my client is comfortable at and also identifying what they are here for and what is priority that they want to start addressing first. I also ask for a lot of feedback regarding the pace, to reflect on challenges they are experiencing and finishing sessions with also the positives that they are doing well. Therapy is not intended to dread that we can adjust the heaviness and pace to fit the needs of my client.