Of course.

Some people never go to therapy and live full and complete lives.

While it's possible to work on your own personal healing, therapy offers different benefits that may be difficult to achieve on your own.

Talking to a friend, reading self-help books, journaling, mindfulness, meditation, and scrolling through TikTok and Instagram are all tools.

Therapy is another tool.

Therapists provide:

• Accountability

• Support

• An objective perspective

• Structure

• Confidentiality

• Expertise, skills, and training

It’s your decision to decide if therapy will be a helpful tool for you.

You might cry. Many people do. And it's completely okay.

Crying is a normal, helpful, and natural way for our bodies to release pent-up emotions.

Crying is a way to let go of the pain, sadness, burden, fatigue, or frustration you may be carrying inside.

By crying, you're actually taking a positive step towards healing.

Or you might not cry. And that’s okay too.

It’s common to feel nervous and stressed about going to therapy, especially if you’ve never gone before.

Human beings are hardwired to avoid pain, discomfort, and the unknown.

Common reasons clients feel unsure about therapy:

• Feelings of embarrassment

• Discomfort with vulnerability

• Stigma around mental health due to cultural norms

• Expenses/fees

• Fear of being misunderstood

• Fear that treatment will not be helpful

• Commitment to treatment long term

• Past negative experiences with therapists

• And more

I’ll ask you questions about your worries so we can alleviate and address your concerns.

There is no “perfect” time to start therapy. We begin where you are at and we move slowly. The hardest part is usually making the first step and reaching out.

Trust times take time to build. We’ll only continue meeting if we both find it helpful and a good fit.

If I’m not a good fit for your needs, there are a variety of therapies and types of therapies available who can help you.

As a therapist who goes to therapy, I still feel nervous at times going to therapy!

I do not have adequate specialized training & experience with the following populations and issues:

• Children

• Adolescents

• Teens

• Families

• Psychosis

• Sleep issues/insomnia

• Mandated/court ordered therapy

• Disability evaluations

• Forensic evaluations

• OCD

• Discernment counseling

• Sex therapy

No Crisis Services

• I can’t take on clients who are actively suicidal and homicidal, active eating disorders, active addiction, and/or problematic substance use due to being a one person practice.

• These issues require a higher level of care where you are provided intensive care (e.g. more than an hour once a week).

Therapy has a beginning, middle, and end.

Length of treatment depends on your goals and your ability to invest time and money.

Some clients benefit from brief therapy (1-4 sessions) or short-term therapy (3-6 months) for a single issue.

Other clients benefit from longer-term therapy (6-12 months+) for more complex issues.

My goal is for clients to work me out of a job and stop seeing me.

We’ll end therapy when you’ve reached your goals, symptoms have decreased, you want space and time to integrate your learning, and/or at anytime you feel therapy isn’t helpful.

Some folks also like to pause and take a break, coming back when necessary.

• You don’t until we meet.

• Browse my website, read through my profile, look through what I specialize in, and watch my videos to get a sense of my personality.

• I offer an optional 5-minute meeting to answer any questions you may have before beginning therapy.

• During our first session, I’ll learn more about you, provide you education, a plan for therapy, and we’ll both mutually decide if we should continue working together or if you require another type of therapy or therapist.

WE MIGHT BE A GOOD FIT IF YOU VALUE:

Being challenged and interrupted at times

• Rather than venting every session and have me nod in silence; I believe there is a limit to how much endless validation can help you grow

Are active in therapy

• Come in with things to talk about, practice skills/tools outside session, open to trying new things

Direct communication and soliciting feedback

• Therapy is most helpful when you communicate with me your disagreements, your requests/wants, and when you give me feedback on what is and isn’t helpful. I’ll do the same.

Dialectic or balance

• I try to balance things in therapy: balancing validation with challenge, balancing insight with learning skills, listening with interrupting, and acceptance with change

Other methods outside of talk therapy

• Such as mindfulness, experiential therapy, psychodrama, somatic therapy

The healing power of relationships

• Most people bring their patterns/dynamics into the therapeutic relationship. If you tend to avoid conflict outside of therapy, you’ll most likely avoid tension and disagreement with your therapist.

• We will use our therapeutic relationship as a template for learning new healthy experiences and opportunities for repair and growth

Want to learn how to become your own therapist long term

• My goal is for you to gain insight and understanding into why you do what you do, interrupt unhelpful cycles of sabotage, and learn skills/tools to manage future conflicts

WE MIGHT NOT BE A GOOD FIT IF YOU:

Expect perfection

• I’m not perfect, will make mistakes, and will communicate directly when this occurs toward resolution

Expect me to do the bulk of the work

• Examples: Solve your problems, tell you what to do, consistently have to ask you what you want to work on in session, am more curious about you than you are of yourself

Cancel sessions often

• Therapy works best with consistency

Don’t take accountability

• Confronting our shadows require honesty about our humanity and limitations

Don’t liked being challenged

• Of course, I will be gentle and compassionate, but in my experienee, endless validation is not going to be helpful long term

Demand instant change within 3-4 sessions

• While relief can come in a few sessions, long term change requires compassion, practice, patience, and repetition

Want to get rid of all your feelings and thoughts

• Pain is inevitable in life

• My goal is for you to learn to accept and manage life stressors, pain, and grief with more compassion, nuance, and acceptance.

• If we get rid of painful feelings and thoughts, we also then will have a difficult time accessing joy, love, and peace. What we resist persists.

• Moreover, there are things in life that cannot be forgotten, forgiven, or rid of such as the loss of a loved one or traumatic experiences

Aren’t interested in exploring your past, childhood, or upbringing

• There are other therapists who focus only on the present moment with an emphasis on skill building and generating quick solutions that may be a better fit (CBT, DBT, ACT)

• Check my current openings here.