My Approach
Therapy with me often includes building self-awareness, learning and practicing validation, and challenging yourself to make desired changes at a realistic pace. I have been told my approach can be direct, while also gentle.
I primarily see my work through the lenses of person-centered therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and feminist therapy, as well as drawing inspiration from somatic and narrative therapy approaches. My therapeutic style is warm, client-centered, affirming, and informed by the need for social justice and liberation in our communities.
I see one of the main goals of therapy to be a concept I learned from DBT, which is to build a life worth living. My own experiences with therapy helped me see that a life worth living is possible, and supported me in building a life worth living for myself. As a therapist, I strive to support clients in building their own versions of a life worth living.
Experience
I earned my Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Northwestern University. I completed my counseling practicum and internship at Meridian DBT in Vermont, where I mainly worked with teen and adult individuals and groups, and received training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). Since moving to California, I have worked with queer teens and adults in individual and couples therapy at Pacific Center for Human Growth in Berkeley. I now see adults and teen clients for individual and group therapy through Grateful Heart Holistic Therapy Center.
Who I Am
My main motivation for working as a therapist is to support others, especially within the queer community, through mental health services, because I greatly benefit from such services myself. I am white, able-bodied, neurodivergent, and queer (nonbinary, trans, pansexual). I grew up in Indiana, and have since lived in Tennessee and Vermont, prior to moving to Oakland in 2022. I was raised practicing Christianity, and am now agnostic. I live with my spouse, young child, and our two mini poodles. I enjoy trail running, writing stories and poetry, appreciating chocolate croissants, and snuggling my dogs while reading queer fiction.