When we work together, we are equals in relationship. I may have therapeutic training, but I am just another human being. You are, therefore, the expert of your own life experience, and I am both a witness and a guide in our relationship.
Neuroscience informs us that the psyche is always pushing toward the integration of experience. So even when we become submerged in traumatic stress, our minds are working with us, rather than against us. We can trust the psyche's process throughout the healing work that we do.
Humans are not broken, and as a therapist, my job is never to fix another person. Fixing isn't possible for a reason, and that reason reflects the wholeness of each individual, independent of the trauma experienced. Trauma doesn't break people, but it does challenge them. It's important that we establish this wisdom in our work together.
As an inclusive and affirming therapist, all races, ethnicities, genders, and sexual orientations are welcomed and celebrated in my care. Identity shaming is not tolerated in my life or within my practice.
In recovery, we need to experience processes that were chronically disrupted or disengaged from. Primarily, many survivors haven't had the experience of (or experienced very little of) being genuinely cared for, appreciated, and celebrated. Individuals may have only received care or cheerleading when and if they abided by dysfunctional rules or coercive control by perpetrators. In therapy, I believe it is your right to be authentically honored without performance.
My goal for our work together is to engage with the unconscious mind that holds onto unresolved trauma narratives, beliefs, and patterns. I believe that healing requires the facilitation of helping unconscious material become more conscious to the individual. In our work together, I will strive to help you uncover and release toxic stress that manifests as low self-esteem, inattentiveness, and disease.
My approach to working with individuals centers on the slow process of recovering and reclaiming themselves through the therapeutic relationship, along with offering processing skills that clients may use in their daily lives. Through our connection, I help to facilitate the natural grief process that was interrupted by relational trauma using integrative experiential techniques. I am often a good therapist fit for individuals experiencing complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), neurodivergent and highly sensitive persons, and individuals struggling with their marginalized identities.
My approach to working with couples centers on healing family-of-origin trauma that influences partner choice-making, responsiveness and reactivity, and each individual's ability to show up in the relationship with vulnerability rather than protective stances. Couples often find that once the "honeymoon" stage of the relationship fades, they no longer may know who their partner is and feel unfulfilled and unseen, leading to tension, loneliness, and heightened conflict. I am often a good fit for couples who are open and willing to look at their pasts and to challenge what they have come to know as being true about themselves and their ability to be in healthy, fulfilling relationships.
My approach to working with groups centers on developing healthy attachments while recovering from relational wounding. While running groups focusing on childhood trauma, my clients learn to experience genuine intimacy while holding toxic family systems accountable for unmet developmental needs. I believe that community healing is central to individual healing. My childhood trauma therapy groups are best suited for individuals who are ready to start looking at the truth of their experiences and who are healthy enough to show up as a support to other members.