My Approach to Helping
Do you ever feel like there's an instruction book to life that everyone got but you? Does it seem like everyone else "has it all together" and you're just trying to fake your way through life? Not a good feeling, is it?
Believe it or not, you're not alone, and you're not as bad as you think. You've learned ways to think and feel about yourself that made sense in the past, but they aren't working so well now.
I specialize in helping my clients identify their unhelpful ways of thinking and feeling so they can choose to think and feel differently about themselves and improve their self-esteem. I also help clients to process traumatic experiences, both "big T" traumas (like combat, sexual and physical assaults, and car accidents), and "little T" traumas (like negative interactions that lead to a poor self-image).
Contact me today so I can help you to understand why you shouldn't believe everything you think!
More Info About My Practice
I use IFS (Internal Family Systems)-informed EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy to help clients to process traumas and other emotional difficulties. Visit Amazon dot com or BarnesandNoble dot com to buy a copy of my book, "Me Time: Finding the Balance Between Taking Care of Others and Taking Care of Yourself."
Specific Issue(s) I'm Skilled at Helping With
I am particularly skilled at helping clients identify and change their negative self-talk so that they can develop a more balanced and realistic picture of themselves. Many of my clients are their own worst critics. Their negative self-talk started a long time ago, and now it's automatic. This doesn't mean, though, that it can't be changed; research has shown that we can "re-wire" our brains so that we think more positively. Imagine how different your life could be if you were kinder to yourself! I also help clients to reprocess traumatic memories to remove their negative emotional charge.
I am a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LCADC), which means I have special training in helping clients to overcome addictions to alcohol and other drugs. If you're struggling with addiction, I can help you to find the motivation and the means to break the cycle. And I am an EMDRIA (EMDR International Association) certified EMDR therapist and Consultant-in-Training.
What I Love about Being a Psychotherapist
I think that being a psychotherapist is the best job in the world! I love getting to know my clients and helping them to see themselves the way I see them. I am grateful for the opportunity to help them to heal from negative life experiences. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a client have an "a ha!" moment and knowing that I've had a part in facilitating that. I love the fact that, as an EMDR therapist, I offer my clients more than just hour-long talks about how their weeks have gone. My clients often tell me that they appreciate knowing that there's a structure to our work together so they have an idea of what to expect, and know that it will be effective.
How My Own Struggles Made Me a Better Therapist
I often joke that, in my experience, people don't have shiny happy childhoods and then wake up one morning thinking "I'm going to be a therapist!" And if they do, they're not likely to be very good therapists. I can be an effective healing presence for my clients because I know, from personal experience, what it's like to suffer traumas and to heal from them, and I know what it's like to be a therapy client. My first experience as a therapy client was very painful because I wasn't given the tools to cope with the huge emotions that surfaced. I learned from that experience, and my clients benefit from that learning.
