I am a mental health therapist with a private practice in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. I provide psychotherapy to individuals and couples with experience working with a variety of issues that include, but not limited to
• Sexual abuse
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Relational and Interpersonal Issues
• Racial/Ethnic Identity Issues
• Self Esteem Issues
• Body Image Issues
• Grief and loss
• Isolation and Loneliness
• Destructive life/relational patterns
I am committed to providing competent, compassionate, transformational counseling services to individuals, couples and families within a therapeutic context that honors clients where they are, where they were, and where and how they’d like to grow.
Education and Experience
I completed my undergraduate work in Social Work at the University of Missouri-Columbia and received my MA in Counseling Psychology from Mars Hill Graduate School.
In addition to my private practice I have also worked with couples in the Intimate Mystery conference and with sexual abuse survivors in a Recovery Week conference.
My training and education has included much experience working with diverse racial/ethnic populations as well as with those of diverse socio-economic backgrounds.
My Philosophy
I believe one of the greatest gifts and one of the most difficult tasks is to live with a sense of fullness and freedom. Varying circumstances and experiences of trauma, tragedy, and pain can become paralyzing in the pursuit of a full and free life.
However, to live and in life we are not meant to escape pain and hurt in order to find freedom, but freedom is engaging the tragedies of life and experiencing life. It is embracing and blessing the fullness of who we were created to be, the fullness of the life stories we were given, the fullness of the desires we hold.
I believe the therapeutic relationship invites us to enter into such possibilities. Many of our struggles in life originate from relational wounds, but it is my belief that relationships are not only a source of wounding, but source of healing. We need the presence of another to enter the dark spaces of life without a sense of isolation. We need the eyes and face of another to help us see and name the places we feel, sometimes unconsciously, stuck, hide, feel afraid, flee or fight life, but also to see and name beauty, desire and hope.
My Approach
I have a holistic view of people and healing, therefore my therapeutic orientation incorporates Existential Psychodynamics, Family-Systems theory, Interpersonal Psychology as well as Theology and Philosophy related to personal and spiritual growth and development. Essentially, I hold the belief that we are shaped by relationships with others and God, and we develop belief systems, paradigms for life and ways of relating and being based on those relational experiences. It is part of the therapeutic work to explore how those life paradigms and ways of relating have facilitated a greater sense of isolation, shame, despair and fear and to begin to discover new ways to fully live well.
At the beginning of therapy, we will negotiate a kind of psychotherapy contract in which we will agree to meet at a given frequency, usually once a week, at a set time, and for a given fee. Occasionally, circumstances are such that I may suggest meeting more than once a week. The consistency of appointments and mutual commitment to the psychotherapy process are important ingredients to a successful outcome.
Credential
I am registered in the State of Washington as a Mental Health Counselor Associate. My state credential ID is MC60140447.