About
No judgment here.
No matter what you are coming to see me for – stress, overwhelm, feeling stuck in a relationship that no longer serves you, irritability and anger, or escaping reality with any number of substances or behaviors, I know that it is not your fault.
We get stuck in a series of coping mechanisms that we picked up years before we were even aware of it ─ drinking too much, hyper-fixating on our body image, being in productivity mode 95% of the time, even simply shaming ourselves for not doing enough. These are all survival mechanisms we unconsciously developed – at a young age – to protect ourselves.
Often we are taught a lot about school and work, but most of us were never taught how to work on our emotional health, and how to cope with difficult, challenging or traumatic events in our lives. We were never taught how to show up as our authentic selves in relationships, build a positive relationship with ourselves, identify our wants and needs, and communicate healthily.
Therapy can get us back to ourselves.
Like I said, it’s not our fault we arrived at these coping strategies; and the good news is we can change. In our first session, you only have to tell your story. I want to know your experience so far, what feels off, and what feels right. Together, we will identify your wants and needs and how to communicate these in relationships.
I will ask questions to prompt a deeper level of thinking and will challenge perspectives that may have kept you stuck. I’ll help you make connections and I will suggest activities or skills to try to move in the right direction. There is no cookie-cutter approach that works for everyone; your therapy is driven by your needs, and my approach will be, too.
We will talk about boundaries, which can help us protect the peace we start to create and strengthen our relationships. We will get back in touch with what makes you feel alive and hopeful, identify the fears and blocking beliefs holding us back from making real change, and find ways to push through them.
Step by step, we will start making changes that work and are sustainable. You will begin feeling peace and confidence and have the time and space to breathe and relax. Your relationships will drastically improve. You can transform your life, and there is no limit to the changes you can make.
A client recently told me, “I’ve done therapy before and hated it. You are the first person I feel open to sharing with. It feels like you are walking with me.” I do my best to meet you where you are. I show up as my authentic self in therapy, with warmth and humor, and work with you to get where you need to be.
About Me
Experience guides my therapeutic approach.
My empathetic and creative approach to therapy comes not just from my training but from my own experience. With the help of therapy, I went through a significant shift in my 30s that has been transformative.
I always thought I handled challenges pretty well. The reality was, I never processed anything. I was a self-proclaimed work-a-holic. When I wasn’t working, I engaged in behaviors and relationships that did not serve me. I looked for validation from everyone else except myself. I had no time to understand or get to know what my needs and motivations were, and what drove me. Even my healthier relationships were suffering because I felt overtaxed; I didn’t know how to create space for myself. I had no idea how disconnected I was from myself.
When I decided to get my Masters in Social Work, I was driven by my desire and passion to fight for social justice. But when I became a therapist, I realized I had to examine my relationship with myself. Since I am not a good liar, I quickly learned I needed to change myself to help others make their desired changes. I can’t convince others of something I don’t see the benefits of with my own eyes.
I started to see a therapist, and through that, I began to look at my patterns of behavior and ways of reacting. I noticed that I needed to get back in touch with my true self – who I am at my core. I made small but consistent changes and tweaked my ways of thinking, which had a massive positive impact on my life.
I believe that therapy can be truly empowering and life-changing. I look forward to working with you and getting something done with long-lasting benefits!
My Training
I graduated with a Masters in Social Work from Florida International University. I have advanced training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), the Gottman Method, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). I hold clinical licenses (LCSW) in four states: Florida, Connecticut, Iowa, and Utah.