My approach

We all have innate human needs to belong, to be seen and understood, and to feel secure with and connected to those around us. And at the same time, those closest to us have an uncanny ability to brush up against our raw spots and vulnerabilities. I believe our early family of origin experiences lay the foundation for internal and
interpersonal patterns that we may continue to play out in later life.

Though these patterns are not set in stone, they are often automatic and hard to recognize, change, and understand. Many of our patterns include our best and most creative efforts to adapt to the tough stuff of life such as trauma, misattunement, and loss. Together, we can explore the ways in which our adaptations may have served us well in earlier times but are no longer proving to be helpful, effective, or in line with our needs.

Capitalizing on the brain’s innate plasticity and resiliency, we can practice new ways of being ourselves and connected to others, especially in the context of a healthy therapeutic relationship. I value collaborating with clients to utilize their strengths and creatively problem-solve new ways to seek connection, soothing, safety, and satisfaction in their lives.

I approach my clients from a strengths-based perspective and then integrate attachment-based, trauma-informed, and body-based resources into our ongoing work. I also incorporate practical coping, skill-building, and problem-solving strategies in our work to support you in experiencing symptom relief early on in our work.

I strive to create an environment for clients where they feel safe in the therapeutic relationship, can collaborate on building a wide variety of resources, and are able to navigate the process of healing and growth.

Individual Therapy

In an ideal world, our early experiences of connection offer us a sense of security, accessibility, and responsiveness. Where this has been present, we are able to develop an internal sense of ourselves as lovable, worthy, and deserving of getting our needs met. But what happens when this has not been our experience, where our imperfect caregivers may not always have known how to offer this to us?

My experience is that many of us have had to find ways to adapt and survive moments of disconnect, invalidation, or criticism. This can often mean we hold beliefs about ourselves that are limiting, worry that we have to hide or minimize parts of who we are, deny certain emotions, hustle for our worth, and/or build up layers of protection.

We may find ourselves stuck in a conflict between parts of us that long for connection and belonging and parts that strive to protect us from the possibility of further pain, rejection, or disconnection. This internal conflict can frequently play out in our important relationships in ways that create conflict, distance, frustration, and confusion.

In working with individuals, I value the process of identifying when parts of ourselves may be overwhelmed by anxiety, depression, loneliness, confusion, or shame. Honoring our wounded parts allows us to learn more about our unmet needs, nurture self-compassion, and at the same time make more wise decisions for ourselves and our relationships.

I can also work with you to adapt to major life transitions and changes so that you can be true to your own needs and values even when stress or hurt feels overwhelming.

My own life experience provides me with humble insight into the internal and external resources needed for living and how important it is to keep nurturing the idea that our needs, boundaries, and sense of security are precious.

As such, I also enjoy working with those who live with special needs, neurodiversity, or a chronic illness and the additional demands these can have on your inner and outer resources and your relationships. We can work together to explore your unique needs so that you can feel understood, seen, and supported while you are identifying more satisfying ways to navigate additional needs.

EMDR (Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

I believe in creating an experience for deeper self-exploration, healing, and compassion. My goal is to create a space of self-led and directive healing so that you can live with greater security, calm, and confidence, and build more satisfying relationships.

I also offer EMDR, a brain-based model that pairs well with the person-centered philosophy and focuses on healing trauma, overwhelm, or experiences that were outside of our capacity to cope with at the time. EMDR works at the level of the limbic system, the part of our brain that processes emotions, bodily processes, memory, and threat or trauma. By working directly with this part of the brain, profound healing and a restored sense of security, regulation, and integration can be experienced.

What we know about trauma is that it tends to get stuck in the limbic system and hold a certain emotional charge. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation, or eye movement, to gently nudge the charge away from that trauma and support innermost healing by finishing the processing of those emotions. The best part is… YOU are in control of what is shared and experienced, and you are healing yourself from the inside out.

My Background

As a social worker, it is in my core values to honor diversity, and I actively seek to support clients with a wide variety of lived experiences—cultural, spiritual, familial, and economic. I earned a Master of Clinical Social Work from Catholic University and am independently licensed in Virginia. I have completed Level I Advanced Trauma Treatment and completed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Teacher Training. I offer Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), an evidence-based practice that helps clients reprocess trauma and impactful experiences. Practicing yoga for almost two decades has informed my understanding of the brain and body connection and the wisdom of the body as a resource. Together we can practice using this resource, whether it is breathing, slow movement, or just noticing what is happening in your body when you are under stress.

I identify as an LGBTQIA+ ally, non-monogamy-affirming, sex-positive, culturally humble therapist.