What I help with, and how
Every person's situation is different, but most of what brings people to therapy falls into a few clusters. Here's what I work with, and the approaches I use. I see clients ages 13 and older.
Anxiety & stress
Anxiety disorders, panic, and everyday overwhelm have a way of shrinking your life. You start organizing your days around avoiding the things that spike it. Together we figure out what your anxiety is actually responding to, and we build coping skills that work in the moment, so you can meet stress without white-knuckling through it.
Not sure whether what you feel is ordinary stress or something more? I wrote a guide on how to tell stress from an anxiety disorder, and when it is time to get help.
Trauma & PTSD
Painful experiences can get stuck. They show up as flashbacks, nightmares, feeling constantly on edge, or feeling numb. Trauma work does not mean retelling every detail out loud, and it does not mean getting stuck in the worst of it. Using eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), a therapy that helps the brain finish processing painful memories, we take the charge out of those memories at a pace you control. EMDR should only ever be done with a therapist who has been specially trained in it. It is not something to try on your own.
Curious what EMDR actually looks like? I wrote a plain-language walkthrough: What actually happens in an EMDR session. If you are weighing whether it fits you, start with Is EMDR right for me? If what happened to you was a crime, I also wrote about therapy after being the victim of a crime, including help paying for it.
Mood & life
Depression, low self-esteem, ADHD, chronic illness, relationship and peer issues, women's issues, and thoughts of suicide rarely arrive one at a time, and they feed each other. We work on the pieces that are weighing on you most, and we build a real understanding of yourself along the way.
A few guides that may help with what you are dealing with: high-functioning depression, adult ADHD in women, living with chronic illness, setting boundaries without guilt, and supporting someone with suicidal thoughts.
If you're in crisis right now, don't wait for an appointment. Call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or go to your nearest emergency room.
How I work
The three main evidence-based approaches I use are below, matched to what you need. I draw on other methods too, but these are the ones you will see most. If you want help telling them apart, I wrote a plain-language comparison of how CBT, DBT, and EMDR differ.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT looks at the loop between what you think, what you feel, and what you do, and it teaches you to catch and change the thought patterns that keep you stuck. It's practical, structured, and one of the best-researched therapies there is.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
DBT builds concrete skills in four areas: tolerating distress, managing emotions, staying present, and handling relationships. It's especially helpful when feelings hit hard and fast. If you want a taste, try five DBT distress tolerance skills tonight.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR helps the brain finish processing painful memories so they stop feeling so raw. It follows a structured eight-phase process, and it should only ever be done with a specially trained therapist. The full walkthrough is in this guide to EMDR sessions.
Not sure which fits?
You don't have to know. We'll figure it out together in the first sessions.