Areas of specialty
Anxiety
Folks often seek support in therapy when one's experience of themselves has become unsatisfying or overwhelming. What we call "anxiety" might be considered an unmanageable experience of aliveness, such as in the case of performance anxiety or social anxiety. Sometimes, however, anxiety can become generated as a result of how one relates to oneself.
As a somatic practicioner, I am very familiar with how one's thoughts directly impact how one holds oneself, and how one uses oneself bodily can in turn, influence one's thoughts. In cases where thinking is centered around a self-critical voice, this experience is often localized in both voluntary (striated) and involuntary (smooth) muscles, leading to physical symptoms such as gut pain, bruxism, and headaches.
There is a function to feeling anxiety and I can also appreciate that you may be wanting something different. I am here to support you with growing a more satisfying relationship to yourself.
Bonding
Sometimes, even as adults, we find ourselves deeply unsatisfied with our relationships and our capacity to initiate, maintain, and deepen our connections. Often, breaking free from unsatisfying patterns means having to address the relationship one has with oneself, and building a sense of trust and safety in one's own sense of intuition and interpersonal boundaries. The good news is, it is not too late to form this capacity for ourselves. Neuroplasticity, or the brain's ability to grow, change and heal, extends into our behaviors as well. Research shows that regardless of therapeutic modality, the therapeutic relationship is the single best predictor of therapeutic outcomes. In other words, one must feel safe-enough with one's therapist in order to take the necessary interpersonal risks in the therapy to grow one's capacity for inter-relational intimacy.
Whether you are an individual person wanting to explore your attachment style and bonding behaviors in a safe container with another person in individual therapy, or are in a relationship with another person and are needing support in couples therapy, I will support you with gradually growing a more satisfying experience of relationship, both individually and collectively.
Boundaries
Do you often find yourself agreeing to do things you end up regretting later? Do you feel guilty when your needs seem out of alignment with those around you? Do you feel resentful of others because they don't seem to recognize all that you do and keep asking for more?
If any of this is true for you, you may be asking yourself if you are satisfied with how you have been making or expressing your boundaries.
Whether you are looking to soften your boundaries (becoming less critical) in some contexts, or firm them up (becoming more assertive) in others, I will support you with growing boundaries that are satisfying and empowering for you.
Couples & Relationships
Romantic relationships are often a surreal simulation of familiar dynamics and behaviors, as well as an unapologetic mirror that reflects us back to ourselves. Naturally, relationships can stir up a lot of hurt feelings, or even behaviors that inadvertently create distance between you and your partner. At the same time, relationships can also be a healing container in which to reorganize how you know yourself, both personally and interpersonally.
As a couples therapist, I strive to be objective, honest, and balanced. I offer a warm, experiential, and collaborative approach that supports couples with focusing on each other and their relationship from the start of our therapy.
My approach is informed by Formative Psychology as well as Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT), both of which are somatic (body-based) and relational approaches to psychotherapy.
Identity
As an Adult Third Culture Kid (ATCK), queer, femme, Pennsylvania-Deitsch (White), mixed-class person who grew up being shaped and influenced by different social, cultural, and racial contexts, often as a racial and sexual identity minority, I am in a unique position to support folks with exploring identity.
Whether you are questioning a particular layer of your identity, wanting to unpack trans-generational patterns or legacies you have inherited, wanting support around a cross-cultural dynamic you have with a partner, or trying to reconcile the multiple worlds that live within you, I am here to support you with feeling at home in yourself. Identity is an ongoing, evolutionary journey and I am honored to be a part of your adventure.
Transitions
Whether you have just moved to a new place, are expecting your first child, are about to get married, have recently experienced a break-up or loss, are considering a career change, or struggle with your sleep/wake cycles, I am here to support you with managing your experience of transition.
Transitions are happening within and around us all of the time, and one is often not connecting to the emotional impacts that are taking shape beneath the surface, as they are happening. Whether your transition is one that is bringing you joy or one that is causing you stress (or both), I will support you with moving through the present transition while engaging you with forming a more satisfying means of managing future transitions.
Trauma
I specialize in relational and attachment trauma that is experienced by those with emotionally-immature, neglectful, or unavailable caregivers. As a child, not having one's emotional world carefully tended to by one's caregiver can be experienced as a deep wound that is often experienced as "invisible". This is often an insidious form of trauma, because the person was not hurt in an "obvious" or an "extreme" way. However, the culmination of these wounds can influence how one relates to oneself, how one relates with other people, and can even influence the types of romantic partners one chooses to be with.
The body's unconscious and deeply-wired patterning support the person with making familiar choices, because at some point, these choices, impulses, or responses, kept them safe and alive. I specialize in supporting adults who grew up feeling that they had to emotionally caretake for their caregivers, or were otherwise labeled "selfish"; were placed in a role of being their parents' "best friend" (codependency); and/or were made to feel that they had to "grow up" faster than they were ready to, so as to not burden their caregivers ("glass children").