At times in our lives we can feel defeated, lonely, ashamed, and it might seem like there is something wrong with us. It is my belief that there is absolutely nothing wrong with us at our core. Often the stories we get told about how our lives should look compounded with the pressure from our jobs and the expectations from our families and loved ones can make us feel like we're not good enough. These narratives can leave us feeling overwhelmed, stuck and isolated. It is my experience that the tapes playing in our heads based on social conditioning and our past experiences can be holding us back. Accompanying these stories are often strong negative emotions that can be scary to feel. We may have developed strategies to deal with these negative emotions that are harmful to ourselves or others, or are just not effective in our lives and we need help identifying and unlearning these strategies.
In my work with clients I use mindfulness techniques to learn how to accept and be with our difficult emotions and cognitive behavioral techniques to address some of the negative thoughts that may be limiting our full potential. I believe there is no right or wrong way to be and that people are not either good or bad. I believe in the complexity of the human experience and I think we are all doing the best we can with the situations in our lives as they arise. Sometimes we just need some extra space and support to unpack the things getting in the way of our full, authentic potential.
Whether you're working with a specific life transition (new job, relationship, loss, phase of life) or a more longstanding issue such as; a general sense of anxiety, stress, difficulty communicating with others, or a depressed mood I am happy to offer a compassionate ear and collaborate with you to see which tools may be useful to empower you to be able to move through the difficulties of life with more ease. We will never be able to rid ourselves of negative experiences and emotions but we can learn how to manage them in more authentic and skillful ways when they come up.
Additional areas of focus: LGBT, Family conflicts, Trauma and abuse, Grief, Intimacy-related issues, Career difficulties, Depression, Coaching, ADHD, Body image, Caregiver issues and stress, Communication problems, Guilt and shame, Jealousy, Life purpose, Self-love, Women's issues
Clinical approaches: Client-Centered Therapy, Mindfulness Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy
MA LMHC 11874