Taking care of our mental health is as important as brushing our teeth. Finding the right therapist can feel daunting, and it is more personal than finding the right dentist. How you feel when you first meet your new therapist is a basic guideline for a positive connection. I believe that most of the healing in therapy happens through the client/therapist relationship and trust and good rapport are keys for success. A therapeutic relationship happens when the client feels safe, heard and understood without judgment and with plenty of empathy. Through this relationship the client can learn to self-reflect, self-regulate, process deep emotions, as well as learn new ways of relating and coping when the old ways don’t seem to work any more.

My clinical focus stems from a psychodynamic theoretical approach (often referred to as insight-oriented counseling) which emphasizes the impact of past relationships on the present. In particular, I am guided by attachment-based theory which holds the position that social attachments formed in one’s early years greatly affect one’s emotional development and future relationships. I also utilize a more pragmatic thought and behavior-changing approach called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). I look forward to meeting my clients where they are at and helping them reach their therapeutic goals.