I believe that everyone should be able to live life joyfully! Being able to have joy and delight in yourself, relationships, and family life is a beautiful and intimate thing. To me "joyfulness" captures the feeling of freedom that happens when we begin to experience life differently, when there is a turning point and we begin to have hopeful disposition. Over the years I have gone through my own healing process and have held on to that inner experience of space, freedom, and the power of choice in life, which has been so meaningful. I've learned that self care is more than doing something out of habit. Taking care of ourselves is one of the greatest gifts we can give to honor our own person-hood. And this is exactly what I want others to learn in therapy! When it comes to mental health, my top three values are: compassion, courage and joy. Compassion is necessary to look at the broken and sometimes messy places within us. We must enter those parts with authentic love, gentleness, and mercy. Exercising courage is a wonderful act where we face our fears despite feeling scared in order to find something more. Lastly, joy is felt when we are truly able to delight in life, with laughter, happiness, and a free unencumbered spirit.

I believe finding the right fit is key when starting therapy. Being able to connect on a personal level enables us to develop trust to enter those difficult places. Having someone walk with you during hard times can be healing. Therapeutically, I've been told I'm soft and gentle but subtly challenging and affirming of client's experiences. I'm not afraid to celebrate the little successes that happen in your life; While I also find it important to acknowledge and thank our old ways of dealing with the past. Professionally, I use an integrative approach to therapy. I work with clients based on their needs and present concerns. Generally, I conceptualize from a relational, attachment, and family systems perspective. I tend to use interventions from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Emotion Focused Therapy, and various skill training models. For example, assertive communication, healthy boundaries, executive function training and mindfulness.

The mind, body and soul are not separate parts within us. I believe people are sensual, physical, and spiritual. Our brain, thoughts, and cognition's affect the physical body; and both the body and mind are connected to the soul. In therapy I acknowledge and respect these factors and use each lens (mind, body, and soul) to understand your approach to life. I am a Catholic-Christian and enjoy working with others of similar faith. As a mental health counselor, I work with individuals of all religious, spiritual, and cultural backgrounds and am respectful and curious about my client's unqiue belief systems.

My interests revolve around understanding an individual's family dynamics, interpersonal relationships, and their unique upbringing. I enjoy working with several mental health issues, but am especially fond of treating issues relating to trauma, anxiety, boundaries and communication, attachment, vulnerability, and intimacy. I also find the practice of mindfulness to be empowering for self-awareness and managing tough emotions or bodily sensations. I use mindful curiosity in my approach and I teach mindful skills and exercises to my clients.