My Style
Mental health recovery and healing from trauma is possible. I know this from personal experience. Living with a mental health condition can be confusing and the stigma associated with it can lead us to feel discredited or unheard. A person with a mental health condition is the same person behind their eyes as they were before they got that diagnosis. I love to help people remember that, and to gain back their voice in their life and relationships. I have met a number of people who feel like trash and there have been times in my life that I have felt that way. I want you to know that just because you feel like trash that doesn't mean that you are trash. You are worth your recovery and I would love to get to be a part of that. Causes I feel strongly about include mental health recovery, abuse prevention, suicide prevention, recovery from self-harm and eating disorders and Autism acceptance. I am also an advocate for kindness, families and of everyone's story being heard. These are some of the tools in my toolbox
Acceptance Commitment Therapy
ACT is like a compass. In this therapy, we determine what matters to you, what is getting in the way, what might be distorting your view of yourself/the world, and basically---what's holding you up. And we sort through that and get you on a path to living a life you find meaningful. ACT is the modality of therapy that I have done the longest. I have gotten some training in this as well as mentorship from other ACT therapists. I find it helpful for a great variety of challenges.
EMDR
When I first learned about EMDR, someone described it to me as "magic." I did not believe them. Still, since I have been trained in EMDR and began implementing it I have sparked strong respect for this method in helping a person reach back to find when a core negative belief (such as "I am a bad person") got formed and in processing through all the memories that piled onto that belief and resolving that trauma. I have seen EMDR help people heal in ways that are different from and deeper than traditional talk therapy.
Recovery-Oriented CBT
Many years ago people were taught that if you lived with a serious mental health condition such as Bipolar Disorder or Schizophrenia you would never recover or live a good life. The people who taught that were wrong. Recovery Oriented Cognitive Therapy is an innovative approach to assist individuals living with mental health conditions in identifying and moving toward meaningful aspirations while also coping with challenges that can get in the way of taking steps toward these values.
Radically-Open DBT
Have you ever felt alone in a crowded room? Do you struggle with emotional loneliness, trouble relaxing, or relentless perfectionism? These are the types of difficulties Radically-Open DBT is crafted to tackle. Radically-Open DBT focuses on building our connections with others, flexibility, and social signaling. It is an neurodiversity-affirming intervention for the social/emotional challenges some with Autism live with as well as for paranoia, depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. This therapy involves individual and group components in addition to between session support.
Compassion Focused Therapy
Compassion Focused Therapy is an e transdiagnostic therapy. In other words, it's a psychotherapy crafted to help people with a wide range of hopes and difficulties. One of the tenants of CFT is that we have a balance of three systems, threat which handles survival, drive for motivation, and a compassion system focused on relaxing and enjoying comfort of others. A challenge for many is that the threat system takes over for many leading to anxiety and difficulties enjoying life. Compassion Focused Therapy is designed to help you re-balance.
Mentalization-Based Therapy
Mentalization-Based Therapy is an evidence-based intervention for individuals who struggle significantly in their relationships with self and others. It's about balance (within context) between self and other, emotion and thinking, what you can see and what you can't see, and intuition and reflection. While originally designed to assist individuals living with Borderline Personality Disorder, MBT has since been found to be helpful to individuals and families with a range of presenting goals.