about us

I am a licensed professional counselor (LPC) working with adults and helping them to access and build upon their inner strengths. The focus of my practice centers mostly on trauma, anxiety, grief or loss, life transitions, and relational conflicts of all kinds.

HOW MY PERSONAL APPROACH MAY HELP YOU:

I often see clients who express feeling “crushed” by significant life events or “too overwhelmed” by the day-to-day struggles. My belief is that while some people may feel broken, they are often much stronger than they realize. My role in this situation is to help guide you, the client, towards greater self-empowerment:  (1) learning how to access and identify the emotions, (2) dealing with the root causes of hurts and struggles, and (3) disallowing past events to define your life. With therapy, motivation, and a bit of self-discipline, you can learn to embrace hard and difficult moments as potential opportunities for growth…and change.

WORKING TOGETHER:

My approach in counseling is collaborative, which means I work with you. So, while you may come to me for expertise in a focused practice area, I also know you are the expert of your life and your experiences. No one knows them better than you. To determine treatment, we will discuss your specific goals and needs, create a plan to achieve those goals, and then begin the work together. This work is not a linear process, as there may be areas you get stuck (and, who doesn’t at times?). But this can also be when I am most privileged to walk with you in your journey—witnessing your courage and helping you to move forward by offering encouragement, challenge, guidance, flexibility, and insight. 

I also bring to counseling the benefits of my prior work and current life experiences—as a lawyer, a caretaker, wife, mother, sister, and friend. I am a Christian counselor, which means I am happy to integrate spirituality as a part of therapy—but only at your request. (I am keenly aware of religious trauma; but, I have also seen clients benefit from using their spirituality or faith journey as an additional resource for healing, especially with trauma and anxiety.) 

MY THERAPEUTIC APPROACH:

I am certified in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and trained in Brainspotting. Both approaches are grounded in the study of neurobiology, utilizing the inherent connections between one’s brain and body to achieve health and wellness. I am also trained in Bowen Family Systems and may explore family-of-origin issues that help you to better understand how historical events influence your present-life situation or your current relationship with others. Depending on your needs and goals, other therapeutic approaches may be integrated in our sessions.

OTHER THINGS YOU MAY WANT TO KNOW:

My clients describe me as encouraging, empathetic, open, and insightful. The session space is meant to be a private, welcoming place where you can be yourself and feel understood. Our sessions may involve challenging questions on which to reflect but they are also designed to help you move in a forward direction. In our sessions, you will experience authentic conversation, an empathic listener, some psycho-education, curiosity, and perhaps tears, laughter, or both—for all these things help us to connect and are important in the healing process, your healing process!