How We'll Work
Counseling is a unique relationship through which I offer deep listening, support, feedback, and education to help you gain insight about yourself. I'll work with you to figure out what's getting in your way, and help you move towards a life that feels more meaningful, balanced, and fulfilling. It's important to me to provide culturally responsive and ethical care, and my own lived experience allows me to bring compassion, authenticity, and humility to build a therapeutic relationship based on respect, acceptance, and understanding. I work best with people who are curious about themselves, the world, and what it means to be human.
My approach to counseling is...
Person-Centered: You are the expert on your own life. Only you can know what you need and what is right for you. I'm here to explore with you, not to tell you what to do.
Existentialist: It is up to you to define for yourself what a meaningful life is. While you cannot control all of the conditions of your life, you create your life through the choices you make. Taking responsibility for your choices and overcoming your fears is the path to an authentic and meaningful life.
Culturally Responsive and Trauma-Informed: Your identity and life experiences are unique to you. I seek to understand people as individuals living in the context of culture. I examine and take responsibility for the ways in which my own cultural experiences influence my interactions with others. I recognize symptoms of trauma, understand the impact of trauma on the bodymind, and offer techniques and education to support healing and avoid re-traumatization.
Collaborative: The counseling relationship is effective when we are engaged, authentic, and honest with one another.
In counseling, you and I will work together to explore who you are, the experiences that have shaped you, and how you can make choices to move towards a life of meaning and purpose. I believe that the therapeutic relationship - one characterized by compassion, warmth, and acceptance - is where healing and growth flourish, so we'll invest some time getting to know each other in our first few meetings. Please plan to meet a minimum of once a week for at least the first four weeks of our working relationship. After this time, depending on what you want to get out of counseling, we may meet anywhere from multiple times a week to every other week. We may meet just a few times, or continue working together for many months. We'll check in regularly to evaluate our progress together and ensure your needs are being met.
As we work together, I might invite you to experiment with new habits and behaviors like practicing different ways of communicating, putting yourself in new situations, or integrating mindful exercises in your life. I may lead you in exploring new ways of thinking about yourself and your relationships, and we may do creative exercises like role-playing, writing, or other expressive projects. I’ll also share insight, resources, and psychoeducation to help you develop a deeper understanding of yourself and others.
As a counselor, I aim to support your holistic wellness - a positive, healthy balance encompassing all areas of life. Rather than trying to "fix" or "treat" someone who is "sick" or "broken," I see our struggles as normal, understandable, and inherent in our being human. Because mental health is intricately intertwined with our overall wellness, I encourage everyone I work with to attend to their physical, spiritual, and social needs. Wellness looks different for everyone, so we will explore together how best to meet your unique requirements.
Still have questions? Please reach out! I'd love to talk with you.