Can you help me?

Probably. I have lots of experience helping people find relief from anxiety and shame-related challenges. I’m extensively trained in Trauma-Focused and Trauma-Sensitive work and am rostered to provide Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. I’ve also been extensively trained in Dialectic Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Theraplay. I have completed trainings and am working towards certification in Perinatal Mental Health.

If we realize in our consultation call that I’m not the therapist for you, I’ll be glad to refer you to someone whose expertise more closely aligns with your challenges. No harm, no foul. We both have better things to do than spend time doing ineffective treatment.

But really, I can feel different than I do now right?

If you’re willing to do the work? Yeah, totally.

What makes you qualified for this anyways?

I went to school for a long time. I got excellent supervision from experienced therapists for a long time. I’ve continued my training with lots and lots of continuing education so that I can ethically and effectively help you to feel better. I read and research constantly. Basically, my job is to be qualified to help you and I’m damn good at my job.

But like, who are you REALLY?

I am the parent to young children. I’m a partner to a pretty cool husband. I know that sleeping when the baby sleeps is wishful thinking, and the conflicting desires of wanting your tiny person to stay tiny and wanting them to be able to wipe their own dang applesauce off of the walls (or better yet, not put any applesauce on the walls in the first place). I’m a dedicated life-long learner and super-cool person who does research for fun (and to procrastinate from say… putting the laundry away). I’m a little bit hippie-dippy, and a lot of bit evidence-based. I tell cheesy jokes, read a ton, listen to more podcasts than is reasonable for any one human, and have a group chat with my best friends that means I often come back to my phone to 436 unread messages.

I’m a lot like you. I’ve done the work to figure out (mostly) what works for me, my life and my family. I’d like to help you do the same.

Can’t I just drink more wine? Or like, do a hard workout?

I mean, yeah. You can do either of those things.

But wine isn’t a replacement for therapy. A difficult work-out isn’t going to change years of unhelpful thinking, painful emotions or hard-wired behaviors. Real self-care requires examination of our coping strategies to determine if they’re helping us to avoid pain (hi, wine!) or helping us to heal through pain.

I really don’t have time for this.

Okay. I get it. I’m a Mom-In-The-Real-World, too. Hear me out though.

You don’t have time to not do this. You know how when you take the time to make a grocery list before you go to the store, it ends up being a much faster trip than if you wander the aisles aimlessly? And you only have to make one trip because you didn’t forget the milk, or the bananas? Therapy is kind of like that - a little bit of time commitment that makes everything else run a little more smoothly.

Will I be safe with you?

Yes. Although I’m a cisgender, white woman with She/Her pronouns, I’m LGBTQ+ affirming and constantly trying to acknowledge my own privilege in this world. I won’t understand what it’s like to be you, so I promise to listen well and believe you and your experiences. I’ll acknowledge what I don’t know, keep my mind wide-open and never ask you to speak for everyone who has some similarities to you.