My Approach to Therapy
Soft, steady, and safety-oriented approach to therapy
I believe that meaningful therapy starts with a strong foundation of safety. Before diving into heavy or painful material, we’ll focus on building a therapeutic relationship where you feel supported, understood, and grounded.
My work is rooted in approaches like parts work and emotion-focused therapy, which help us explore your internal world with care and curiosity. Even when we begin to approach more difficult topics, we won’t rush. Instead, we’ll slow things down by paying close attention to what’s happening not just in your thoughts, but in your emotions and your body. Together, we will work toward building a sense of safety with your emotions and physical sensations, supporting your capacity for regulation. For children, this process is adapted through play and supportive guidance, helping them understand their feelings and develop tools to manage them.
A central focus will be understanding your nervous system and the unmet developmental needs that may still be shaping your responses today. This means we’ll spend time getting a clear sense of where your system is, both so you can build awareness and so I can support you in a way that truly fits. This process is collaborative, paced, and deeply attuned to you.
Individual Counseling
I provide individual, outpatient counseling to kids, teens, and adults and specialize in the following concerns:
Anxiety: You might notice this as racing thoughts, restlessness, a tightness in your chest, or a feeling that your mind can’t quiet. Anxiety can make it hard to focus, sleep, and feel present.
Depression: This may show up as feeling heavy, numb, or disconnected from the things and people that once brought you joy. Depression can also show up as fatigue, low motivation, difficulty concentrating, or feeling hopeless.
PTSD & C-PTSD: Trauma responses can include intrusive memories, flashbacks, nightmares, emotional numbing, or feeling on edge. Other trauma symptoms include struggling with trust, boundaries, self-esteem, relationships, and emotion regulation.
Binge eating disorder: You might experience preoccupation with food, body image, or weight, or use eating behaviors to manage distress. Binge eating often stems from deeper emotional pain or a way to cope with lack of control.
Chronic illness: Living with chronic illness can bring pain, grief, and frustration. It’s tough to manage the emotional impact of ongoing symptoms, uncertainty, or changes in identity and autonomy.
Childhood behavioral concerns & emotion dysregulation: Kids may struggle with irritability or difficulty managing frustration and transitions. This might present as big emotional reactions to day-to-day events and tasks. These behaviors often signal underlying stress, unmet emotional needs, or difficulty feeling understood.
I primarily use EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Somatic Therapy to help process trauma, regulate your nervous system, and bring compassion to parts of you that carry shame. Using an attachment and somatic lens, we’d work toward healing early wounds and strengthening your ability to feel safe, connected, and fully present.
EMDR
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) helps the brain process distressing memories, reducing their emotional intensity using bi-lateral stimulation, which involves eye movements, hand pulsars, tapping, and more. This therapy resolve unprocessed traumatic memories in the brain, which can help you feel more grounded and calm.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy views each person as a system of inner parts, some wounded, some protective, with a core, compassionate Self. IFS helps you access that Self to understand, befriend, and heal young, scared, and hurt parts. This modality facilitates a greater sense of confidence, calm, courage, curiosity, and connectedness.
Somatic Therapy
Somatic therapy focuses on the connection between the body and mind to help release trauma stored in physical sensations. By gently tuning into your body’s responses, you can restore regulation to your nervous system and process emotions safely. This approach supports greater resilience, self-awareness, and the ability to respond to life with calm and clarity.
Additional Therapy Techniques
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT helps you identify and shift unhelpful thought patterns that influence your emotions and behaviors. By increasing awareness of these connections, we can find helpful strategies for managing stress while alleviating negative thoughts that influence your views of yourself, others, and your future.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is a compassionate, research-based approach that helps you understand and work through your emotions at their core. Rather than avoiding difficult feelings, we’ll explore them safely so they can bring clarity instead of overwhelm.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT encourages greater flexibility in how you respond to difficult thoughts and feelings. This therapy encourages learning ways to make space for your full emotional experience, instead of resisting and focusing on negative beliefs, plus aligning your behavior with your values.
Creative & Experiential Therapy (Sand Tray, Play Therapy, Art as Therapy)
Creative and experiential approaches allow for processing emotions and experiences without words. Through sand tray, play, or art-based therapy, clients, especially kids, can explore stressful thoughts and feelings in ways that may feel more accessible, safe, and helpful.