My Approach to Therapy

As a growth-oriented person, I strive to offer warmth, open-mindedness, cultural humility, and truly trauma-informed care to my clients. I take a strength-based and person-centered approach to my clinical work, meaning that I see myself as a consultant in peoples’ journeys toward enhanced wellness, and I work in a collaborative way that keeps the client’s goals and priorities front and center. I believe and respect that clients are the experts on their own lives.

I utilize techniques from a number of different counseling models and approaches including humanistic, narrative, deconstructionist, decolonialist, mindfulness, and somatic.

I understand how systemic oppression (e.g. racism, sexism, ableism, fatphobia, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia) contributes to symptoms related to anxiety, depression, traumatic stress, substance dependency, and relationship issues. I approach these issues by working with clients from within intersectional, LGBTQIA2+ affirmative, anti-racist, and trauma-informed frameworks which can help clients to divest from the demands of oppressive social systems and structures, rediscover strengths, increase emotional regulation skills, and to develop an enhanced a sense of self-efficacy and self-trust in order to assert boundaries, take risks, and navigate difficult people and circumstances with greater confidence.

During our time together, I will listen to your story, offer reflections, and ask and answer questions in order to collectively gain clarity and discover the deeper and richer meanings within your stories and experiences. Together, we will work to understand your pain and to identify your strengths, resources, and desired future. I respect that this is your personal journey and I feel privileged to be a witness to your growth, self-discovery, and enhanced wellbeing.

The Therapeutic Relationship

The therapeutic relationship has the potential to provide a safe and transformative space for you to grow and change through a process of sharing information, building trust, self-exploration, and trying out new ways of communicating your feelings, needs, preferences, and boundaries. Finding the right therapist to witness your journey, however, could take a little time. 

Carl Rogers emphasized three essential qualities that a counselor ought to possess: empathy, genuineness, and respect. When a therapist is able to convey an understanding of your experiences and feelings, to be open and sincere, and to refrain from judgment and accept you as a whole, this can help engender a safe and trusting relationship in which you are free to transform and grow.

During initial consultations with a potential new therapist: asking questions, expressing your expectations, and trusting your own intuition can help you to feel more informed and empowered as you choose your therapist. 

I encourage your inquiries and welcome you to schedule a complimentary 30-minute (or so…) phone consultation with me prior to our first meeting. I want you to get a really good sense of what it will feel like to work with me before you commit to a paid session, and I want us to have the time to ensure that we are a good fit, so I make the time for longer consultations.