I am a graduate of USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work master’s program and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
I graduated in 2017 and began practicing social work as an LMSW in 2018. I served families and individuals as a social work case manager in a hospital and worked in private practice as a therapist. I trained and began practicing Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in 2019. I continued to serve as a therapist in private practice via telehealth through the COVID-19 pandemic until filling a new position as a telehealth counselor for New Mexico Treatment Services (addiction treatment/methadone clinic). I moved to Japan and obtained her LCSW in 2020. As an LCSW, I served families, couples, and children in the military community as the Family Advocacy Treatment Manager.
My approach as a therapist is trauma-informed and guided by the ecological systems theory, which assesses how physical, social, political, and cultural systems affect an individual. I value a person-centered and non-judgmental while viewing the experiences of others from their point of view. I emphasize a collaborative healing process with clients and believes this is key for the therapeutic relationship.
Some of the general interventions I practices are: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Problem-Solving Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, and Narrative Therapy.
• Individual counseling: In addition to the general interventions I practice, I an also certified in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). The DBT model guides my overall approach for individual counseling. I work collaboratively with clients to identify and build their strengths, identify and process emotions, build acceptance, and make nondestructive choices.
• Trauma-Informed counseling: I practice EMDR to treat trauma. I will conduct assessments and discuss the risks and benefits of EMDR with clients to make informed decisions about the right approach to trauma treatment for each individual. I will work with clients to decrease trauma symptoms while maintaining safety.
• Couples counseling: I practice the Gottman Method as an approach to couples’ therapy. The overall goals are to reduce verbal conflict, increase intimacy, respect, and affection. This happens in therapy by building empathy and understanding within the relationship. While these are the general goals of couples’ therapy, I will work collaboratively with the couple to identify problems and set goals.
I am certified in DBT through Evergreen Certifications. DBT is designed to help clients accept circumstances and make changes, manage and express strong emotions, analyze behaviors, learn healthier patterns of responding, improve relationships with others in their lives, learn new skills, and receive support.
I was trained in EMDR through the River's Edge Institute and I am certified. EMDR is a structured therapy that uses bilateral stimulation while the client is encouraged to focus briefly on the traumatic memory.
The Gottman Method is an approach to couples therapy that begins with thorough assessments completed by the couple to help the therapist understand the relationship within the context of the Sound Relationship House Theory. “The goals of Gottman Method Couples Therapy are to disarm conflicting verbal communication; increase intimacy, respect, and affection; remove barriers that create a feeling of stagnancy; and create a heightened sense of empathy and understanding within the context of the relationship.”
Additional areas of focus: Abandonment, Attachment issues, Avoidant personality, Body image, Caregiver issues and stress, Codependency, Communication problems, Control issues, Dissociation, Divorce and separation, Domestic violence, Drug and alcohol addiction, Forgiveness, Guilt and shame, Impulsivity, Isolation / loneliness, Life purpose, Veteran and Armed Forces Issues, Mood disorders, Narcissism, Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD, Panic disorder and panic attacks, Personality disorders, Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships, Post-traumatic stress, Self-harm, Self-love, Social anxiety and phobia, Somatization, Women's issues, Workplace issues, Young adult issues
NM LCSW C-11763