I am a Pratt Institute-trained therapist who helps individuals, couples, families, kids, and teens discover and fully feel what is at the root of their current struggles in order to experience meaningful change. I am passionate about learning about and knowing each individual, as well as supporting them to be curious about themselves. This includes tolerating vulnerable moments of not knowing, which can appear as frustration, discomfort, anxiety, or fear. With the right amount of intimacy and integrity in the therapeutic relationship, I am not afraid to lean into the hard stuff with the folks I work with, which offers the opportunity to dig deeper into emotions, thoughts, and experiences that have been unacknowledged, stuck, forgotten, or denied. I believe the more people come to know themselves, through all the challenges and messiness that entails, the closer they get to growth.
I have witnessed how individuals can have difficulty holding and expressing complicated and contradictory feelings. Through my study of dance and movement therapy and creative arts therapies, I know how creativity can be woven into the work to communicate significant pain, increase self-awareness, and process what seems taboo to verbalize. This training, alongside my previous experience working with kids with special needs, seniors in a nursing home and rehabilitation center, and young adults and adults, many of whom were BIPOC and queer-identifying, continues to influence my drive to help people make meaning from their suffering. Whether new moms or parents who have trouble acknowledging the full breadth of their feelings in their new role or the impact of identity and injustice on a person’s lived experience and relationships, I help individuals find nuance, empathy, and greater understanding.
As a couples therapist, I see how couples can be afraid to broach pain points, conflicts, or subjects that might be destabilizing to the relationship. I help couples identify and work through challenging topics and unhelpful dynamics with compassion and honesty while being curious about differences in opinions or experiences. Newfound closeness can come from recognizing why one may behave in a certain way or why a relationship is functioning unhealthily. I am dedicated to guiding couples to these realizations and toward greater authenticity and resilience in their relationships.
Family therapy offers the potential for real change when everyone is in one place and on board for the process. As a family therapist, I know this can be a big weight to take on, especially getting everyone in the room with their unique histories, perspectives, and feelings. I support families through discovering how and why their family has been operating that has caused dysfunction, miscommunication, or inflexibility in roles in the family system. I help facilitate this process by reflecting back what may be exacerbating or contributing to what isn’t working and, then, helping families work together to address these systemic issues with the necessary care.
In my therapy for children and teens, I’ve observed how forging deep connections with kids and teens can be transformative and encourage giving voice to their emotional experiences. Creativity, metaphor, or simply playfulness can lead children and adolescents to express themselves more authentically, offer more accessibility to their emotions, and develop better coping skills. I provide structure and guidance for teens and kids with an eye on how they still need to grow while allowing room for self-discovery. I also fold parents into the process when appropriate, offering insight on what support their kid or teen may need outside of therapy for healthier relationships.