People often ask me about my approach to therapy. I firmly believe in establishing authentic connections, comfortable spaces where I can bring to bear my years of professional experience. I believe that simple behavior-based practices miss the mark by underestimating the whole person and the totality of the human experience. I have been trained in multiple modalities, including TF-CBT and MAP (among others), and find aspects of each to be helpful. However, relying on simple behavior-based approaches misses too much of the human condition. 

I combine much of my training into a hybrid approach: Psychodynamic (past can inform the present), Jungian (archetypal), family and cultural systems, narratives (the stories we tell ourselves), body-based (somatic), creativity and the expressive arts (visual art, music and movement), nutritional health (a judgment-free look at how food can effect mood), mindfulness, trauma-informed care, and more. My CA license requires that I  take continuing education. But that is no burden, because I enjoy learning and bringing new approaches to you. What most therapists will not tell you is that many “new” types of therapy are truly a repackaging of old ideas, sometimes updated in very necessary ways, others times not so much. 

I am lovingly direct and consider my helping profession to be a vocation. A vocation in the classical sense is not just a job, it’s a calling, an act of love. I firmly believe in the acceptance of all people, and whatever you bring into our work together is okay. You are welcome here, regardless of who you are. 

Radical acceptance requires me to take care of my own inner work and address any potential implicit bias. I do my best to recognize my own cultural assumptions. This helps me to be present and open to your experience, even when our lived experiences may very be different.