Congratulations on taking your first step! Start by sending a brief snapshot of what kind support you are looking for through the contact form. I will get back to you as soon as possible!

Once availability is confirmed, I will send you an email link through SimplePractice where you will complete the necessary paperwork prior to our first meeting. This paperwork includes information regarding the practice policies, a brief intake form and baseline assessments. On average, the paperwork should take 14-minutes to complete. 

The foundational structure is guided by the counseling helping process: 

1. Engagement phase: This includes reviewing your consent to treatment, benefits and risks or therapy, limits to confidentiality, appropriate boundaries, our roles in the therapeutic relationship to name a few.
2. Assessment Phase: Here, we gather more information about what bring you to therapy which includes your biopsychosocial history. This phase allows us to gain an understanding of what exacerbates your challenges as well as what seems to help or alleviate your symptoms.  
3. Treatment Planning: In the assessment phase, we may find that there is so much to work on. However, therapy is effective is we can narrow down on 1-2 goals you would like to focus on. Having a focus allows us to be intentional with how you would like to spend your time in therapy.
4. Insight and Action Phases: This phase goes deeper into the goals we’ve set for therapy and often depends on what modality we’ve agreed to work on i.e. EMDR therapy or somatic approaches. Sometimes, it may just include regular talk therapy where I ask open ended questions or probe further to help deepen your awareness to  what we’ve agreed to explore. If you’re up to trying something new, we explore skills such as boundary setting, decision making, reprocessing traumatic or distressing events, or grounding and containment skills. 
5. Evaluation/ Termination Phase: From time to time, I will often check-in with you to make sure that we’re on track with your goals. We may also discuss phasing out or terminating therapy if you feel you have achieved your goals. 

The last three processes are often interchangeable. 

1. Relational framework: The therapeutic relationship – that is a safe and trusting  relationship between the therapist and the client – is a crucial foundation for deep and meaningful work to unfold. 
2. Collaborative: I don’t consider myself to hold all the answers. In fact, I’m not in the business of ‘fixing’ people. I see my role as a guide – posing questions, offering practice skills and suggesting possible pathways we can take towards your goals. It is imperative that you are in the driver’s seat, applying what you feel works best for you. 
3. Experiential:  As a somatic therapist, I will often ask questions that guide you towards paying mindful attention to the body. Together, we will study your body sensations, breathing patterns, pace and quality of speech, movement, among many other physiological processes, to gain access to old survival patterns. Through awareness, we will begin to experiment or ‘renegotiate’ healthier ways of facing challenges, shifting limiting beliefs and creating meaningful relationships.

My main therapeutic approaches EMDR, Somatic Therapies and Ego-State work. I also draw from psychodynamic psychotherapy and attachment-focused therapies.

My approaches are geared towards folks who:

• Feel they may struggle with symptoms of  complex trauma such as difficulties regulating emotions, limiting beliefs about themselves and the world, emotional flashbacks, chronic depression and anxiety, blurry sense of self, chronic feelings of guilt and shame to name a few. Survivors of complex trauma have experienced chronic traumatic experiences such as physical and emotional abuse and neglect often in interpersonal relationships. 
• Individuals who have experienced significant or single traumatic events such as motor vehicle accidents, physical and sexual assault, natural disasters, losses such as the death of a loved one, loss of relationships or employment. 

You can find a snapshot of some of the areas of  focus here.

No, the practice is only focused on adults above the age of 25.

Each individual’s journey through therapy is unique and deeply personal. The timeframe for this journey is not predetermined, and is based on what you are presenting in therapy or the severity and complexity of symptoms.

For example, if your goal is to address trauma, sessions involve working at the pace of your nervous system which is guided by the three phases of trauma treatment:

1. Creating safety and stabilization;
2. Processing trauma;
3. Reconnection and integration

These phases are interchangeable and it may mean moving back and fourth through the phases. Therefore, ongoing conversation and assessments will be carried out to ensure that we are on the right track.

Weekly sessions are advised for the first three months. Depending on your progress, we can discuss tapering off sessions.

I want to assure you that this is normal and an expected part of therapy! While it can be extremely difficult to bring up feeling of dissatisfaction, therapists are trained to make room for this conversation. 

A few reasons that may contribute to your concerns may include: 

• Difficulties trusting the therapist.
• Therapist may not have experience or competence with your needs.
• Not having clear goals for therapy.
• Not feeling heard or understood.
• Clash in personalities. 
• Misconceptions about therapy i.e. wanting therapy to work faster or wanting to be ‘fixed’ by the therapist.

If any of these concerns sound familiar to you, it’s best to discuss them with me so that we can determine if my approaches align with your goals or a referral may be necessary.

While it is a common misconception that therapy is only for those dealing with mental illness or severe psychological concerns, the reality is that therapy can be beneficial for anyone. You don’t need to be in a crisis to benefit from therapy; anyone seeking insight or desiring change can find value in this supportive process. I wrote more about how you might benefit from therapy here.

As an out-of-network provider, I do not accept insurance. However, I will offer you a statement of reimbursement or superbill for you to submit to your insurance carrier.

As a psychotherapist, I am not trained to prescribe or offer medication management. In case we find that you may benefit from a combination of psychotherapy and medication, a list of trusted providers will be provided to you.