ABOUT ME
I received my Master of Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I have worked in Duke’s High Risk Obstetrics Clinic, UNC’s Counseling and Psychological Services, and in community mental health agencies. I have been in private practice for 15 years, and I truly love the people I get the chance to know.
Through my clients and my personal experience, I know about life not going as planned. After studying to become a professional clarinetist, health issues made it impossible for me to continue. I felt I was losing part of my identity, and I started getting counseling. Through therapy, I discovered that what I valued was to be part of a community, help others, and be creative. Music was not the only way to do that, and I am now honored to help others find their voice and meaning through therapy.
I live in the Triangle with my 10 year-olds, and if we are not at dance rehearsal, we are playing baseball. I have a child with special needs that has opened up my perspective to so many things. I understand the joys and difficulties of trying to balance it all. Reading novels, being in a community band, having deep conversation with friends, finding ways to be silly, laying in a hammock, and visiting the mountains are ways I find joy and take care of myself.
MY COUNSELING APPROACH
People describe me as genuinely caring and non-judgmental. One person said that I have a gift for ‘digging deep’ in counseling but in a nurturing way. I like to encourage people to find their strengths and figure out truths for themselves, but sometimes that means calling people out on things that they are avoiding.
We are unique, and I like to get to know you and then tailor my approach to what is going to be the most useful. Your challenges cannot be fixed through any one set of techniques. I draw from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and psychodynamic approaches. Through these, I want to partner with you to understand what your experience has been and provide some skills, ways of thinking, and approaches that can potentially help. Often, when we talk through an issue, it allows us to understand it and make some peace with it. Then we can begin to build a foundation for being ‘the best you’ possible. This relationship and process can take any amount of time that makes you comfortable. Some people have worked with me for years because they continue to find our counseling sessions helpful. Others want to work on a specific issue, and that can be accomplished in a shorter period.
I often draw from a strengths approach. All of us have found ways to cope with life the best we can. Some of those ways of coping have kept you going until now. Other coping skills might have helped us through hard times in the past but have become unhealthy over time. We can build on your strengths and find new, creative ways to cope.