“It is so important to meet clients where they are and I truly enjoy helping people.”
What was your path to becoming a therapist?
I knew I wanted to become a therapist when I was a senior in high school. I took a psychology elective course and fell in love with the study of human behavior. In my undergraduate and graduate studies, I became increasingly interested in how individual behaviors impact couples and families. Since I started my career, I have worked with individuals, couples, and families with substance abuse and mental health disorders. Working with so many different people with such unique stories has helped me understand that therapy cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach. It is so important to meet clients where they are and I truly enjoy helping people. For someone to allow me to help them in their process to change and heal is incredibly gratifying and humbling for me.
What should someone know about working with you?
I like to take a collaborative approach with my clients. I like to work together to outline goals with the mindset that goals are not always concrete but fluid and changing over time. When appropriate, I will assign homework as I believe continued work outside of the session is incredibly beneficial. I find it important to meet my clients where they are, knowing that not everyone is "ready and raring to go" when they seek help. I think that progress is different for everyone. As long as my clients are showing up to session, I consider that a win!
What are you most excited about within the evolving mental health landscape?
There are two things I am very excited about in the evolution of mental health treatment. One is the increasing popularity of mindfulness and meditation techniques in therapy. As someone who practices both, I know the profound impact these practices can have on individuals. The other thing I’m excited about is telehealth. Telehealth has made mental health treatment so much more accessible to individuals who may not have had access to it previously. I believe that everyone should have access to physical and mental health care and the increasing popularity of telehealth has made it so this is possible.
“For someone to allow me to help them in their process to change and heal is incredibly gratifying and humbling for me.”