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 providing therapy at Pacific Center for Human Growth, as well as providing individual and group therapy through Grateful Heart Holistic Therapy Center. Now at the Center for Mindful Psychotherapy, I work primarily with queer and neurodivergent adults in individual and group therapy.
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 California 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.