I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Minnesota with 4 years of experience working as a therapist, primarily with youth and young adults ages 10-20. My therapeutic approach is strengths-based, client-centered, and solutions-focused. I aim to create a therapeutic relationship with you that functions for you to build trust and confidence in yourself, discover effective coping and/or adaptation strategies, and consider choices available to you. I follow your lead with what you would like to address in therapy and how you would like to go about it, offering support as you make your desired changes. Therapy will often take the form of talking, but I am also well practiced in working with clients in therapy to utilize creative and arts-based activities, as well as play (it can be therapeutic for all ages).
I believe that for therapy to be effective, my job as therapist is to ensure a professional and authentic relationship in which you can feel safe enough to honestly explore what you think, feel, want, and need, in order to uncover ways to pursue the changes that are important to you. Essential to my practice as a therapist is consideration for the ways that that social factors (culture, identity, systemic oppression, and interpersonal relationships) impact our experiences as humans living in specific contexts. I am well-practiced in working with clients facing emotional challenges such as feelings of shame, insecurity, loneliness, and grief, as well as distress related to experiences of sexual violence, emotional abuse, and/or other forms of interpersonal violence. I am also practiced in working with clients dealing with chronic stress from discrimination, microaggressions, and economic hardship. Most often, I work with clients on goals that hinge on growing healthy self-understanding that is useful for reducing distress and improving interpersonal relationships.
A bit about me on a personal level: I am a 34-year-old woman who uses she/her and they/them pronouns. I live with my husband, our baby son, and our middle-aged cat. I love listening to music and making playlists, playing basketball, cooking and eating, reading mystery novels and memoirs, being outside when it's warm, hanging with my loved ones, seeing sunrises and sunsets, and rollerskating. I grew up in Minnesota and Oregon. Because we live in an inequitable and oppressive society, I am mindful of how there are some identity-based privileges that I hold which can cause harm if I am not careful to be constantly reflecting on my biases and checking that I am truly listening. Living through action that corresponds to my values is a constant practice. I believe that people do the best they can in life with the resources they have available. I am always open to discussing aspects of myself with clients if it is relevant to our work together. Building trust with you is essential. I received my Masters of Social Work from Portland State University in December of 2018.
Additional areas of focus: Abandonment, Attachment issues, Body image, Caregiver issues and stress, Communication problems, Divorce and separation, Forgiveness, Guilt and shame, Isolation / loneliness, Life purpose, Money and financial issues, Post-traumatic stress, Pregnancy and childbirth, Self-love, Women's issues
MN LICSW 29274