MY SERVICES
I work with individuals ages 10+. I also offer couples therapy (poly-informed, kink affirming). I also offer relevant parent coaching.
Common issues I work with include anxiety/panic, attachment wounds (relational or familial), chronic illness/medical trauma, LGBTQ+ issues, religious trauma, neurodivergence (ADHD + Autism), emotional and physical abuse, compassion fatigue and complex trauma.
I seek to help clients move beyond awareness and experience change within themselves and tangibly in their everyday lives.
My work is primarily experiential. I want us to practice in session what we want to happen outside of session. This can look like slowing down situations from your week and practicing the type of thoughts or coping skills you want to apply. It may look like role-playing interactions or writing a letter. Sometimes, the work is less literal. Maybe, you need to work with art or create a sandtray. Maybe, you need to bring a task into the session that’s keeping you stuck. Some days that may just mean your nervous system needs to experience safety. The work varies person to person.
My hope is that each session we are carving those new pathways in your brain, building hope that change and healing are possible.
Trauma
We know trauma affects our bodies and our minds. Trauma can show up in a variety of experiences: big, small, instant, chronic, etc. When the body experiences something as trauma, we can get stuck on high alert, re-experiencing the trauma as if it’s happening over and over again. We can continue living and reacting to that trauma.
My goal is to help the mind and body reestablish safety and control using a combination of EMDR, EFIT, and parts work.
I work with all types of trauma including religious trauma, medical trauma/chronic illness, complex trauma, family of origin trauma, LGBTQ+ issues, etc.
Autism + ADHD
My approach to Autism + ADHD is both skill and perspective based. Often, people with ADHD end up believing there is something innately wrong with them. Often the “guidebook to life” you’ve been given never really worked, making you feel like you’re the problem. Existing in a neurotypical world as a neurodivergent person can be taxing and challenging, often leading to burnout. Through our work, I hope you will come to understand how your unique brain works, leading to more self compassion and confidence. Together, we will experiment and find creative solutions, building a guidebook that works for you!
Attachment + Relationships
No one is an island. We are wired for connection. Important relationships in our life shape us. When those relationships are unhealthy, we can be left with attachment wounds that dictate how we see ourselves and others. I believe in the power of the therapeutic alliance as well as our need for community. These wounds did not happen in isolated settings, and so they most likely won’t heal in isolation either. Using experiential techniques, I hope you can grieve attachment wounds and develop new ways of viewing yourself and being in relationship with others.
Therapy Modalities I Use:
EMDR - Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
When trauma happens, the memory can get “stuck” in the brain, causing us to continually re-experience the trauma as if it’s happening over and over again, creating triggers. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) believes that the brain wants to adapt and utilizes the brain’s natural healing process.
EMDR does not require clients to talk in detail about the distressing events. EMDR allows our brain to go in and re-process the memory through to resolution. This allows the memories, negative beliefs, and feelings of discomfort to shift into the past so clients can move forward. EMDR utilizes bilateral stimulation using a lightbar, hand buzzers, or headphones to facilitate this process.
Parts work
We are complex beings. Parts work acknowledges our inner world and the various “parts” within us. This therapeutic lens increases self awareness and inner harmony by exploring how we’ve been shaped by and made meaning of our experiences. With parts work, we will become familiar with the different parts and hopefully aid those parts to work in alignment with Self.
These parts often fuel our experiences of inner conflict, like the pain of an inner child or a perfectionistic ritual. These inner conflicts can cause personal turmoil and relational distress. Parts work acknowledges that we all make sense in the context of our story; there are no “bad” parts. Parts work can create more attunement with Self and helps us understand why we do what we do. With this understanding, clients can experience a sense of integration and wholeness.
EFIT - Emotionally focused therapy for individuals
Emotionally focused therapy for individuals (EFIT) is steeped in systems and attachment theory. As the name suggests, EFIT prioritizes identifying and experiencing emotions and identifies cycles the client is stuck in both internally and externally. Clients become aware of these cycles and learn to untangle themselves and experience something new. Though this type of therapy pulls meaning from the past, it is focused on the client’s present moment experience. EFIT often changes how a client views themselves, releasing them from the cycle so they can experience something new.
EFT- Emotionally focused therapy for couples
What I love about EFT is it offers us the opportunity to practice inside of session what we want happening outside of session.
The lens of EFT gets underneath the cycles you keep getting stuck in to reveal the stories and unmet needs fueling disconnection.
With that understanding, our goal is to rebuild the safety, making your relationship into a place where you both feel at home- where you belong- where you feel seen.
We identify the moves that are keeping the relationship stuck and eventually risk trying something new.
We will do that work together- step by step.
Sandtray therapy
Sandtray therapy uses a large tray of sand and miniature figures. The Sandtray provides a safe, contained space to express and explore your inner world in a tangible way. The tray can be used with or without a prompt. Sometimes, the tray can help communicate or illustrate something words cannot. The scenes created with a tray can help clients experience emotional release, gain new realizations, and practice out fictitious change leading to real change in their life. I utilize sandtray therapy on its own as well as in conjunction with parts work and EMDR.
Play Therapy
“Toys are children’s words and play is their language” – Gary L. Landreth.
Play therapy is a developmentally appropriate way to help children process hard things and learn new skills. Through play, children can effectively express their emotions and practice new ways of thinking and interacting with others.
I also am a believer in using play therapy across the lifespan. Adults need play too! The experiential nature of play provides an arena to not just theorize, but actually try things on and embody the therapeutic work. Sometimes, it is easier and more accurate to express feelings with paint or figures than to say them. Play is a powerful vehicle for self-expression and exploration.