My Approach to Helping
I believe every woman's story matters. Often times, women hold those stories in. Locked up tight, believing it's not safe to share them. The problem is, eventually, your mind needs you to let it out, and no matter how "fine" your life looks on the outside, your story may begin to affect you physically and mentally no matter how hard you try to keep it locked up. I get it. Been there.
I know that with compassion and understanding true healing can happen. Sometimes, healing can feel like you're traveling a long twisted road, but with the right guidance and treatment, you will make it to the light at the end. I became a specialist who helps women overcome past hurts and traumas using the most current information regarding how our brains and bodies respond to those hurts and how to heal from them. I will work closely with you to help you achieve your goals, heal your hurts and finally be at peace with yourself on the inside.
More Info About My Practice
I started my practice after getting frustrated at the lack of current, evidence-based appropriate mental health treatment available to help women, especially sexual abuse survivors.
As someone who has recovered from sexual abuse and other traumas, as well as severe cases of perfectionism and self-hatred, I know what it's like to feel if as who you are on the inside doesn't match what people see on the outside. I also know how hard it can be to reach out for help when the world expects you to be "fine." I understand that women are often misdiagnosed, misunderstood, and over-medicated, and I know how shame can often keep you trapped in a world of isolation and fear, but I also know that with the right help, true healing can happen.
As a nurse practitioner, I believe women heal best when they are treated as a whole person - mind, body and spirit. As a trauma specialist, I know there is nothing wrong with you, but something may have happened to you that affects your life. No, you cannot always just leave the past in the past, but as we work together, you can heal from the past to change your present and future. It's my mission to empower you to get to know your authentic self so that you can rebuild into the woman, mother, sister, friend, partner or _________ (fill in the blank) you dream of being. You may feel broken now, but you can become a rebuilt woman, and as Hannah Gadsby said, "There is nothing stronger than a broken woman who has rebuilt herself."
How My Own Struggles Made Me a Better Therapist
I lived my life in the constant pursuit of perfection. Created a family, became a nurse, then a neonatal nurse practitioner, built a house, got a dog, then another, and then added two cats to the mix. To the world, I had it all together. When I was 46, my whole world changed when my brain could no longer hide the secrets of my childhood that I had locked up tight for so many years, hoping to never think about again. Almost overnight, memories of years of child sexual abuse and living in an emotionally abuse house with an alcoholic father flooded me. I began having panic attacks. Depression set in. Deep depression.
As a nurse practitioner, I didn't feel I could reach out for help. What would people think about me and my ability to care for my patients? The stigma of what was happening to my mind terrified me. How could I ever tell someone? One night, stigma caused me to almost take my own life.
After that night, I knew I had no choice but to seek help, if not for me, then for my kids. With help, I did something I thought would never be possible - heal from what happened to me and finally feel as good on the inside as the world saw me on the outside.
In an 18-month period after that night, three of my colleagues completed suicide. No one saw any of them coming, and I realized if I had been successful in ending my own life, people would have said the same about me - "We had no idea she even had a problem."
This is why I returned to school to become a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner. To be able to offer you a safe place to share your story and say to you that no matter what you're hiding from the world and living alone with, you have a right to heal. Believe me, I understand how bad it can hurt and how scary it can be, but don't let stigma hold you back and keep you trapped. Reach out. It's completely confidential and will change your life.
Call me for a free, confidential consultation to start on the road to healing and living your best life.
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