How I work

With individuals

I draw upon multiple sources of knowledge in our work – and am always internalizing more wisdom from my personal, professional, and community experiences. The theoretical approaches that most inform my approach are Internal Family Systems (IFS), narrative therapy, attachment theory, and somatic therapy. I care deeply about neurodiversity-affirming practice—rather than trying to fix/heal/eliminate a diagnosis, we can get to know the parts of you that might be causing distress, and gently learn to work alongside and appreciate the uniqueness of your mind instead of seeing it as a “problem” or “wrong.”

We can explore how your relationships, contexts, and experiences throughout your life have shaped your beliefs (and even that voice in your head), influencing how you feel and the choices you make. We will develop your acceptance of those parts and voices, as well as your agency to respond to them differently in a way that enacts your values and aligns with what you want for your life. We can also use elements of somatic therapy to explore what your body might be communicating to you, and how you can respond with kindness and care.

I want to model a compassionate, curious, and empathic response to your pain, fears, and self-judgment. My hope is that you can then begin to respond to yourself with care and understanding, and we can find something new together in the spiraling and stuckness.

I see therapy as the process of experiencing a relationship together, where we get to look closely at things that we might avoid in other relationships. When we can experience an authentic, responsive, and secure relationship within therapy, we have the opportunity to explore anything that comes up between us as a reflection of what might be happening in your life – insecurities, fear of judgment, anger, grief, pain – and experience it together within the container of a therapy session.

With couples and relationships

All of my approaches described above are also integrated into working with couples and relationships. But the unique part about couple therapy is that we get to practice new ways of interacting in real time—new ways of showing vulnerability, of listening and responding to each other, of demonstrating affection and care, and of strengthening your sense of security in your relationship. By combining principles informed by Emotionally-Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) with practical approaches from the Gottman Method, we can experiment with new strategies of communicating while prioritizing your emotional connection.

Relationship therapy can feel incredibly vulnerable and scary. My intention is to be a stable, grounding resource for everyone in the session, and to gently return us to an examination of the emotions that are present within each of you. I have experienced this paradox as both therapist and client: when we can bravely share the tender, fragile feelings underneath the tension, anger, and conflict, we can find a sense of connection and security within our relationship that we may have been needing for a long time.

Let’s talk

If you want to talk about what you’re looking for and see if we’d be a good fit, please reach out and we’ll connect.