Healing doesn’t happen in isolation. Together, we can untangle old narratives, identify the things that aren’t working in your life, and develop new coping methods that work for you.
Therapy depends on us developing a safe relationship from which we can explore your feelings and concerns. In our therapy sessions, you can expect compassion as well as a focus on practical skills on how to relate differently to the stress and loss in your life.
I draw from several styles of therapy in my work, including ACT, CBT, DBT, and mindfulness. I practice from an antiracist, queer-affirming, feminist perspective. I am passionate about disability justice and Health at Every Size (HAES).
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): ACT helps people identify what they can change and cope with what they cannot change. We focus on your values and how you can live a more authentic life in line with what is important to you. Research shows ACT is helpful for anxiety, loss, life transitions, chronic pain, disordered eating, depression, and many other concerns. ACT can be helpful for grief because there is often so much out of our control after a loss, whether the loss is death-related or is a loss of safety, trust, relationship, job, etc. I also find ACT useful in the context of climate anxiety and despair regarding political issues to redirect toward what is within our power and grieve what is not.
ACT for Loss and Life Transitions
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT is based on the idea that thoughts, feelings, and behavior are interrelated. We often can’t just change our feelings (or nobody would feel depressed or anxious!). We can, however, adjust our patterns of thoughts and behaviors, which brings emotional relief.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT): DBT helps people “ride the wave” of big emotions and learn to tolerate distress. Please note that I do not provide manualized DBT (in other words, I do not offer crisis telephone support or group classes). However, I do incorporate DBT techniques into my work.
Mindfulness: Mindfulness is a practice of noticing our bodies, thoughts, and surroundings without judgment. It is shown to be helpful for stress management and fosters being gentle with ourselves when experiencing difficult emotions.
My graduate education is in mental health & integrated health, which is the premise that our mental health and physical health are not divisible from one another. As a therapist my approach to treatment involves addressing somatic concerns and utilizing mindfulness to notice our bodies as they relate to our mood and mental well-being.
Headspace Mindfulness 101 | Contains some free resources