Areas of concern and specific populations:
Depression & Anxiety
Depression and Anxiety live on a spectrum of intensity. Anxiety may feel like a continual hum in the body. You might be unable to quiet ruminating or intrusive thoughts. There can be persistent worry about the future, or just a general sense something bad is going to happen. These thought and behavior patterns, often driven by fear are exhausting. Living in a state of fight, flight, freeze, and fawn is not sustainable.
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Depressive symptoms also manifest in different ways. It may look like living your life but inside you feel empty, heavy, lethargic, easily overwhelmed by responsibilities, have difficulty sleeping or unable to get out of bed.
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Trauma
Trauma is not about particular events that happened, it's how it impacts and influences your life now. Some people can point to events or prolonged periods of distress but have trouble identifying reverberations it can cause in the nervous system.
I utilize evidence based treatments like EMDR , IFS, and DBT to heal the fragmentation caused by trauma. It's important to start slow, develop a safe container, and build trust prior to re-processing. I will help you gain practical grounding and resourcing skills. This work isn't easy but the rewards are immeasurable.
Attachment/Abandonment
How we relate to and engage with others is learned. It's possible you've inherited a relationship template and operating system from childhood that's proving unreliable and outdated. You might find yourself seeking intimate partners or friendships but vulnerability and the fear of rejection feels like too much. Or, the contrary, you get close to people quickly and find yourself stuck relationships even when they're not working.
Many people who didn't experience a secure sense of attachment or attunement by their care-givers or peers develop anxious or avoidant behaviors in relationships. Attachment and abandonment wounds are not your fault. Lets work with it so you can hold appropriate boundaries and get close to people.
HSP & Empaths
A highly sensitive person (HSP) is someone who is thought to have increased or deeper central nervous system sensitivity to multiple stimuli, whether this be physical, emotional, environmental, or social.
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This sensitivity affects about 15-20% of the population though most with these traits feel like something is wrong with them. As an HSP myself, I hold deep compassion for others living in a world that often doesn't support this way of being. Lets embrace and love the special gifts of being a highly sensitive person and/or empathetic.
Neurodiversity
Neurodivergent people experience, interact with, and interpret the world in unique ways. Sometimes people are given labels and traits are pathologized as having ADHD, Autism, or Learning "disabilities".
While these can describe and help understand the differences in cognitive functioning- they are often seen as deficits and further stigmatizing. As an AuDHD person, it's taken me most of my life to know and accept, we don't have to fit into anyone's box of what is "normal". Instead, lets work together to understand how to thrive within this beautiful way of seeing and relating to the world.
LGBTQ+
As a Queer/Lesbian identified therapist-I truly enjoy working with folx in the queer community. Though all of our personal experiences and social locations differ, I hope you will feel safe and supported here.
I strive to assist clients with an open mind as they explore/speak to aspects of sexual identity, gender expression, "non-traditional" partnerships and life style choices. On a side note, it's imperative that we acknowledge all of the intersections of identities, personality, and behavioral traits that make you-you :)
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