My Philosophy
Client-centered. Collaborative. Trauma-informed. Holistic. Empathetic.
I believe life is a journey and you know you best. You know your needs, wants, deepest desires, and longings. You know where you have been and where you want to go. Some of these may be hidden to you because of trauma and tragedy, grief and loss, life transitions, or a multitude of other reasons. I believe trauma at any age and stage in life affects the brain and how we operate. It especially affects the growing brain of a child who experiences trauma or continual trauma, such as abuse and/or neglect. Not only am I trauma-informed and specialize in trauma and childhood trauma, abuse, and neglect, I have survived it. It is why I am so passionate about helping children of all ages (including adults) work through their childhood experiences and traumas to find hope, healing, and the ability to thrive and live their best life. I am here to walk alongside you as you uncover and create the life you want and deserve.
I believe every person deserves to feel and believe they are seen, heard, understood, gotten, accepted, and loved. More often than not, our wounded inner child did not receive one or more of these. My goal, in every session, is to create a warm, safe, and inviting space in which you experience these, maybe for the first time in a long while, or ever. A place for you to explore your deepest thoughts and emotions, while at the same time, learning and growing into the person you love and are proud to be. This is done by me helping my clients to understand, clarify, transform, and apply rational and healthy boundaries, interventions, values, thought patterns, and beliefs to their personal life needs and wants.
My Approach
I have a holistic and collaborative approach to counseling, believing we are more than the sum of our parts. Meaning, all of our social and family experiences, the people who have been part of our journey, and everything in between have helped shape who we are and how we do life and relationships. So, as we focus on each part of you, we will come up with a plan together that aligns with your goals and help you move forward to meeting those goals. Collectively, we will continually review and adjust your goals as needed, so that you can get to where you want to be.
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As I counsel my clients, I recognize that while my personal values and beliefs inform my worldview and influence the way in which I counsel my clients, I am cognizant to respect my clients’ values and beliefs in relation to my own and will not impose my values or beliefs on my clients.
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I am an eclectic therapist and utilize a variety of methods, tools, and techniques, which allows for each client to have an individualized plan of treatment. For adolescents and adults, this is primarily using rational emotive behavioral therapy, attachment theory, and family systems therapy. I also employ other theories and approaches, such as Adlerian, somatic, narrative, and Gestalt. With children, expressive therapies, such as play, sandtray, and art therapies are used, within the context of family systems therapy. With my child and teen clients, I balance their confidentiality with a collaborative spirit of inviting the parents to share their concerns and perspectives and offer suggestions on parenting. I also offer faith-based counseling from a biblical perspective for those who request it.