“I often disclose my own struggles because I believe it will make you feel understood and it allows you to open up to me without feeling judged.”
What was your path to becoming a therapist?
Therapy is a very personal issue for me. I became a therapist because I understand mental health struggles from my own experience of being a high-functioning person who suffers from depression and anxiety. I often disclose my own struggles because I believe it will make you feel understood and it allows you to open up to me without feeling judged. When you meet with me, it will truly be at eye-level.
What should someone know about working with you?
It is very important to me that you feel completely comfortable opening up and that we connect on a human level. I use a very honest and direct approach that many of my clients find refreshing. It is not uncommon for us to share a laugh and joke, especially when I point out the obvious elephant in the room. I believe each client is different, so I don't use a cookie-cutter approach and therapy is specialized to your individual needs.
What are you most excited about within the evolving mental health landscape?
Therapy still often has a stigma attached that leaves people worried about what others might think of them attending therapy. I am a mental health advocate and don't believe in the old medical model of therapy "fixing you" or addressing issues only during a crisis. Instead, I believe in a more freeing, preventative, self-care model of therapy. Therapy is for everyone, even when one is stable and not in the middle of a setback. Think of therapy in terms of having a personal trainer for your mental health.
“When you meet with me, it will truly be at eye-level.”