Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choices to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.
In our first session, you can expect me to work on getting to know you and your story. It is essential to create an environment that is non-judgmental, safe, trusting, and filled with compassion and empathy, with a bit of laughter. Beyond those sessions, you can expect that we will be working toward the goals you have identified. I intend to come to each session with curiosity and flexibility, as we are constantly evolving and changing, which might require new ways to approach your goals. Sometimes things can get worse before they get better. Therapy is not a linear experience, and there will be moments when we have to go back to the basics.
As your therapist, I am invested in working collaboratively to support you at every stage of your journey.
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and have been working in the field for nearly a decade. I love using skills so you can begin to apply them outside our sessions, which is where the real work happens. I also enjoy exploring patterns, so discussing your life in full will help me understand how you’ve become the unique person you are. I also like to connect people to the mind/body experience. Learning to be connected to the body helps us understand our actions and behaviors with more awareness. It also gives us more options about how we choose to respond.
I have been formally trained in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), a skills-based approach that helps one build connections with others and themselves, enhance one’s presence and awareness, strengthen one’s capacity for emotional tolerance, and help improve one’s ability to regulate emotions more effectively.
I am a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCPT) from Evergreen Certifications. With this certification and my experience working with individuals who have experienced trauma, I will be leading from a trauma-informed lens and collaborating with you while considering the safest way to support your needs.
I am also a Certified Somatic Therapy Foundations Practitioner (CSTFP) from Evergreen Certifications. This certification allows me to bring specialized training in integrative body-based strategies for emotional healing. This knowledge will help clients better understand their emotions, stress, past experiences, and their impact on the body. Clients will learn self-awareness and emotional regulation, patterns of tension and trauma held in the body, an understanding of mind-body techniques that support change, and a more profound sense of safety within themselves.
I would consider myself an eclectic therapist but other treatment methods or tools I use are Motivational Interviewing which allows us to explore what you want to change, what barriers are getting in the way, and the steps to begin transforming, self-compassion techniques which helps clients learn to apply more kindness to themselves, mindfulness strategies which focuses on awareness of our internal and external experiences, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) which can helps individuals become aware of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
Understanding personal values is such an essential skill that I love helping individuals explore and strengthen. Many of us walk through life unaware of what we value or how to connect our values to creating the life we want. If we are not clear about our values, how can we live honestly and authentically?
Assertiveness and boundary-setting skills are also areas that help to create a life worth living. Sometimes, many factors stop us from saying “no” or speaking confidently about our wants or the things that leave us dissatisfied. We have forgotten or lost our ability to listen to ourselves. We take on the emotions of others, only to later feel resentful and angry for not trusting ourselves. Self-trust is a key component of becoming confident.
Other areas that I feel most comfortable helping clients explore include family and relationship issues, stress, anxiety, PTSD and trauma, women’s issues, parenting, emotion regulation, and overcoming challenges at the intersections of race and gender.
Free To Be Counseling Services values authenticity, collaboration, communication, creativity, knowledge, respect, accountability, compassion, gratitude, self-improvement, and service. I hope that when any client, peer, or potential partner is in proximity to the services that are provided or looking from afar, they notice the work is aligning with the values being shared. People deserve to seek services and their full humanity be respected and nurtured. That is what Free To Be Counseling Services will ensure.
The vision for Free to Be Counseling Services is that everyone who is appropriate for the services being offered receive individualized care that is not only tailored to the client’s needs but also delivered with current and contemporary interventions. I believe that exceptional therapists and individuals in the helping profession are dedicated to being lifelong learners to provide quality care that clients deserve.
I believe that the vision of Free To Be Counseling Services can be carried out by the following:
Offering a brief consultation to make sure the prospective client feels Free To Be Counseling Services are appropriate and in alignment with their needs
Conducting a thorough assessment to understand the client’s need for therapy
Developing treatment goals in collaboration with the client and made specific to the client’s desires
Completing any documentation in collaboration with the client so we are always on the same page regarding progress being made
Collaborating with the client during every stage of therapy to make sure their needs are being met and addressed
Creating an environment with the client that promotes safety and care, curiosity, compassion, support, honesty, trust, and growth
Encouraging open dialogue if there are moments of dissatisfaction with the services being provided
Believing that the therapeutic relationship is enhanced by the strengths the client possesses
Life is never all good or all bad. To fully embrace life, we must accept the tornadoes and thunderstorms as well as the rainbows and sunshine. If you are here, it means you are ready to accept that your life may be imbalanced and to take steps to even the scales. Having a meaningful life does not mean that your life is perfect. It means that you are committed to the discomfort of change because there is no growth when we are comfortable. Change can cause us to feel afraid, and change can be just the thing we need to get out of our own way.
It is always inspiring when people take the first step to reach out for help. Just know that I see the strength you possess. I also know that it is not an easy thing to do. As someone who is not only a therapist but also in therapy, I am often reminded of how fearful this process can be.
I will tell you exactly what I have come to understand: If healing were easy, everyone would be doing it.
There are moments when healing can feel challenging, uncertain, and unattainable. It can also feel rewarding, uplifting, and inspiring. Feel your feelings and keep going because there is freedom on the other side. The beauty of healing is that you are free to be whoever you desire. You are free to be what you want, and you are free to be all the things that make you you!
