Areas of Expertise
Not every therapist is right for every client, and not every client is right for every therapist. I want to make sure that I am the right fit for you. Here are some of the topics and issues that I am most passionate about helping my clients with, and some of the ways that we do that work.
A quick note: these descriptions are not used for diagnostic purposes, and I don't lean heavily on diagnoses when working with clients. For some people, receiving a diagnosis can be incredibly validating and relieving, as it gives words to the way that they've been feeling, and it can help them feel less alone. For other people (especially ones in marginalized identities), diagnoses can be stigmatizing and used as a way to pathologize people.
I will always try to follow your lead regarding the language that you use to describe your own experience.
Chronic Dieting, Chronic Illnesses, Eating Disorders, and Body Image
Are you a person in a larger body? Have you tried every single diet under the sun to make your body smaller? Maybe it started when your doctor told you that your lab values were abnormal and that you needed to lose a few pounds, or maybe it started from childhood bullying about your weight. Maybe you've been outside of the "normal" BMI range for your entire life, or an athletic coach told you that you needed to lose weight to perform better. Maybe a doctor told you that your PCOS symptoms would improve if you gave up gluten, or you decided to give up carbs to fit into your wedding dress or work uniform. Weight cycling (repeated attempts at weight loss, which ultimately end in the same amount of weight gained, if not more) can be profoundly stressful for our brains and bodies, and can leave us feeling like we have failed. Your body was never the problem, and I spend a lot of time working with clients to help them identify the problematic sociocultural forces (White Supremacy, Diet Culture, ableism, misogyny, fatphobia, healthism, etc) that have taught them to hate themselves. By investigating some of these inherited belief systems, many of my clients have developed a sense of empowerment and more self-love.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Many of my clients are quick to say "I had a perfect childhood! Nothing traumatic ever happened to me!" We often have a narrow view of the term "Trauma," using it only to describe significant events like car accidents, natural disasters, deaths of loved ones, and combat. While these types of events no doubt leave many people completely debilitated by nightmares, flashbacks, avoidance, and an over-active nervous system that signals to their bodies that they are in constant danger, this narrow view of "Trauma" can exclude plenty of people whose nervous systems are equally on guard. In reality, "Trauma" can be defined as any event that leaves lasting physical or emotional harm, especially with regard to our identity and sense of self. Maybe you grew up in a household where grownups were always yelling, or where grownups behaved inconsistently or unsafely. Maybe you grew up in an environment where you were treated as bad, unworthy, or unloveable, or where love or acceptance were conditional on meeting specific requirements that were always changing. Maybe you grew up in a marginalized identity (People of Color, LGBTQ+ identified folks, people in larger bodies, etc.) and never quite felt like you belonged or deserved to take up space. All of these are examples of chronic trauma that often goes undiagnosed. Maybe you feel a sense of doom that you can't explain, or you notice that your nervous system is always in overdrive (or, conversely, that your nervous system is always shut down). Nervous system work underpins all of the therapeutic work that I do with clients, as the nervous system is what drives our brains, bodies, and behaviors. By learning to tune into how our nervous system is communicating with us, and what it is trying to protect us from, we can retrain our brains and bodies to develop a sense of safety in the world, leading to an improvement in symptoms.
Anxiety, Depression, and Mood Disorders
Does it feel like your mind is always racing? Maybe you can't shut your brain off as you are trying to go to sleep, or you spend a lot of time contemplating the "what ifs" and the ways that things can go wrong. Or, alternatively, maybe you spend a lot of time blaming yourself for the way that things already went wrong. Perhaps perfectionism, all-or-nothing thinking, and people-pleasing have left you feeling too terrified to move in any direction, and you're feeling overall stuck and frustrated. Maybe you are frequently tearful and feel like you will blow up at the drop of a hat, or, conversely, maybe you feel really numb. Anxiety and depression can feel debilitating and can manifest in so many different ways: irritability, chronic tension in our bodies, work stress, arguing with loved ones, catastrophizing over all the bad things that might happen, avoidance and isolation, a constant feeling of dread in our stomachs, or that looming fear of the future. In our fast-paced and individualistic society, anxiety and depression are so normalized that many people don't even realize that they struggle with them! In therapy, we can gain the skills to slow down our brains and tune in to the stories that we are telling ourselves, stories that often leave us feeling not good enough. Once we've noticed the ways that anxiety and depression have a hold on us, we can practice exercises to change our thoughts, shift the narratives we are holding onto, and practice other ways of seeing the world.
Identity and Adjustment Stress
Life can be really challenging, especially when we undergo significant changes or stressors that are outside of our ordinary expectations for stability and consistency. Some of these changes can be positive, like the birth of a new baby, changing careers, or moving, and some of these changes can be scary and negative, like forced migration, grieving the death of a loved one, or taking in the information about a new health diagnosis. Perhaps you are exploring making changes in your life, either by considering seeking out a new job, breaking up with a partner, or trying on a new identity label. Maybe you are questioning your gender, your sexuality, or your worldview, and you need a safe space to process some of your feelings and thoughts. What I've come to realize in my work over the past decade is that sometimes we just need somebody to help us make sense of the tangled thoughts in our head. Likely, you have all of the answers that you need already, but I am honored to share space with you as you work through some of the more confusing parts of life.