Individual Counseling

Despite the many approaches to psychotherapy, for the most part, they are more similar than different. Above all, research has consistently shown that the most important factor in achieving desired outcomes is the quality of the relationship between the counselor and client. In other words, “fit” is what matters most.

I genuinely feel compassion and empathy for the people I work with. In my own life I’ve experienced challenges, including anxiety and panic attacks, and understand how much of one's life can impacted by them. I’ve also experienced the joy of learning skills, gaining insight, understanding better how the brain works, and changing habits. My motivation in being a mental health practitioner is to share that joy by helping you live a meaningful and fulfilling life, as you define it. Most people struggle to achieve this without some professional assistance.

Some things to know about how I practice:

I don’t view therapy as treating a diagnosis or condition, I’m helping YOU (a person), with strengths, hopes, fears, inadequacies, and dreams just like myself. Instead of me dictating what we’ll do (as the “expert”), we’ll work together. I won’t judge you for your thoughts, feelings or actions. Therapy will be a safe place. Our solutions will be interventions that we both agree will bring you closer to your desired life. I like this analogy used by William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick, comparing a counselor to a guide: “If you travel to a new country, you might hire a guide to help you on your way. You don’t expect the guide to decide when you will arrive and leave or to order what you will see and do. Neither do you expect the guide just to follow you around. The guide’s job is to help you get where you want to go and do what you choose to do…The guide’s expertise is important, and so are your own goals and choices. A guide normally walks alongside, neither pulling from the front nor pushing from the behind.”

I will be an ACTIVE guide in helping you get to where you want to go. My intent is to alleviate the current suffering you’re experiencing and support you in growth. The therapy methods that have had the greatest influence on me are principles of mindfulness, acceptance and commitment therapy and motivational interviewing.