What is your style/approach to therapy?
Life can be adventurous, joyous and beautiful. Life can also be messy, overwhelming, scary and even heartbreaking at times. When we’re ready to reach out for support, it can be confusing to know which is the best path or direction to go. In times like this, rather than feeling as though you are stumbling through a maze with tricky twists, turns and dead ends, I think of our work as walking a labyrinth. A labyrinth is an ancient symbol that has been used for centuries as a meditation tool where, if you choose, you enter and walk on a purposeful path into the center. There you may receive an understanding, insight, truth or wisdom about yourself that you carry back out into your life. I am a big believer in seeing life challenges as a catalyst for self-discovery, personal growth and positive change. I strive to create a safe and nurturing space where together we will invite your curiosity to lead the way through the labyrinth, connecting you with your inner wisdom and the healing steps you can take to live your life in a more engaged and meaningful way.
Specialties
Anxiety
Anxiety can mean nervousness, worry, or self-doubt. Anxiety disorder is a mental health disorder that entails excessive, repeated bouts of worry, anxiety, and/or fear.
Loss/Grief
Grief is a reaction to an emotionally significant loss and often comes with symptoms of depression or anxiety. These symptoms can remain intense and last for a long time after a loss, making it difficult to move forward with a healthy lifestyle.
Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is the degree to which a person feels confident, valuable, and worthy of respect. Feeling low self-esteem can influence overall well-being and be linked to anxiety and/or depression.
Narcissism
Narcissism entails an excessive interest in and over-inflated image of self. It is characterized by selfishness, sense of entitlement, and need for praise. Oftentimes ingrained in one’s personality (i.e., narcissistic personality disorder), narcissism generally develops as a coping mechanism to protect oneself from various insecurities and past traumas.
Trauma
Trauma is the result of experiencing a perceived, extremely distressful event. Although the stress threshold for each person differs, meaning that each person considers and experiences trauma differently, it is an event that tops one’s threshold. It exceeds one’s ability to cope or emotionally process. Symptoms may include shock, anxiety, confusion, hopelessness, feeling disconnected, mood swings, nightmares, and intrusive thoughts.
General Expertise
Work Stress
Workplace issues are a common source of stress and can include interpersonal conflict, communication problems, gossip, harassment, discrimination, low motivation and job satisfaction, performance issues, and poor job fit.
Relationship Issues
Refers relationship issues with a partner or spouse. Can include issues related to relationship distress, relationship satisfaction, communication, intimacy, etc.
Social Anxiety
Social anxiety or social phobia is fear of social situations or a fear of interacting with people other than close friends and family. Social anxiety can be persistent, intense, and debilitating, greatly affecting daily life.
Abuse/Survivors of abuse
Abuse includes any significant mistreatment along the lines of psychical, emotional, sexual, verbal, and neglect. Survivors of abuse may experience negative thoughts and feelings, flashbacks, distrust of others, social withdrawal, self-harm, and increased likelihood of developing mental health and substance abuse issues.
Fees
$150
Individual Therapy
Types of Therapy
Individual Session
Clientele
Adults (25-65)
Seniors (65+)
Treatment Approaches / Modalities
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Mindfulness Practices
Compassion-Focused Therapy
Eclectic Therapy
Experiential Therapy
Expressive Arts Therapy
Narrative Therapy
Person-Centered Therapy
Psychodynamic Therapy
Somatic Therapy
Transpersonal Therapy
Hypnotherapy
Training / Certifications
Registered Hypnotherapist
EMDR (Basic Training)
Narrative Coaching
Trainings over the years - Mindfulness, PTSD/C-PTSD/Trauma, Grief and Loss, Psychosynthesis, Narrative Coaching, Mind/Body Health, EAGALA (Equine Assisted Growth And Learning Association), Expressive Arts (writing/collage/drawing) & more....
Licensure
CO, LPC, LPC0013297
WA, LMHC, LH 60583453
Education
Masters in Counseling Psychology, Pepperdine University
Work History
I have been passionately working in the psychology profession for over 35 years. I’m honored to work in a field where I am continually inspired to deepen, stretch and grow both personally and professionally by my incredible teachers, colleagues and clients. My background is in family systems, with a Masters in Counseling Psychology from Pepperdine University. Soon after earning my Masters, I moved to New York City where I began my private practice as a counselor while volunteering at Manhattan Center for Living, a non-profit center supporting individuals living with HIV/AIDS, and where I facilitated a weekly support group for women. My experience specializing in mind/body health gave me an opportunity to work as a behavioral health counselor, lecturer and workshop presenter at Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires. Twenty-five years ago I moved to Washington state where I continued my mind/body wellness specialty work in private practice and through teaching workshops at UW Women’s Center, Cancer Care Alliance and Cancer Lifeline.I have also had the privilege of teaching workshops for women in Denver, the Bay Area, and San Juan Island, incorporating expressive arts, mindfulness, guided visualization, collage and equine-assisted therapy. For the last several years, I have been working primarily online with individuals and couples from all over the world. I am currently licensed in the state of Washington (LMHC) and in Colorado as (LPC). I'm also a registered hypnotherapist, as well as trained in EMDR, EAGALA (equine-assisted therapy) and Narrative Coaching. When I’m not actively doing the work I love, I enjoy exploring new places near and far, cooking with my family and friends and hiking the coastal and forest trails with our big teeth smiling puppy, Shanti.
Location
Mount Vernon, 98274, WA