I view therapy as a process of uncovering what keeps us stuck and creating the conditions for something new to emerge.
At some point in their therapeutic journey, I will hear my clients say, “This is different from any kind of therapy I’ve ever done.” Often, they’re describing the surprise of realizing that therapy can be a place where change is not only understood, but experienced in real time. This is central to Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), the therapeutic approach that grounds my practice.
Working with an AEDP therapist means we’re not only understanding your experiences intellectually. We’re also paying close attention to what is happening in the present moment in your emotions, your body, and your nervous system. As we slow down and stay with what emerges, there is an opportunity not only to process what has been painful, but to experience something new. AEDP is grounded in the belief that we all have an innate capacity to move toward healing, growth, and greater aliveness, and our work is designed to support that movement.
Paying attention to the body and nervous system means that somatic therapy is naturally woven into how I practice. I also draw from transpersonal and expressive arts therapies, particularly when conventional ways of understanding ourselves feel insufficient. Sometimes what we’re trying to understand reveals itself less through explanation and more through dreams, creative expression, or spiritual experiences.
Across all of these approaches, I understand people in context. Our lives are shaped by intersecting forces: our histories, bodies, relationships, & cultures. Therapy means making sense of your experience within that larger picture, rather than reducing you to a symptom, diagnosis, or single explanation.
My style is direct yet gentle. I listen deeply, reflect honestly, and bring warmth & humor into the work. If this way of working resonates, I invite you to reach out.
ISSUES I WORK WITH: ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, COMPLEX TRAUMA, GRIEF, RELATIONSHIP DIFFICULTIES, FAMILY-OF-ORIGIN ISSUES, ATTACHMENT WOUNDS, SHAME, EMOTIONAL OVERWHELM, FEELING STUCK, LIFE TRANSITIONS, CREATIVE BLOCKS, NIGHTMARES, DREAMWORK, IDENTITY & BELONGING, CULTURAL & FAMILY EXPECTATIONS, MEANING & PURPOSE, EXISTENTIAL CRISES, SPIRITUAL CONCERNS, SPIRITUAL EMERGENCIES
ISSUES I WORK WITH: ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, COMPLEX TRAUMA, GRIEF, RELATIONSHIP DIFFICULTIES, FAMILY-OF-ORIGIN ISSUES, ATTACHMENT WOUNDS, SHAME, EMOTIONAL OVERWHELM, FEELING STUCK, LIFE TRANSITIONS, CREATIVE BLOCKS, NIGHTMARES, DREAMWORK, IDENTITY & BELONGING, CULTURAL & FAMILY EXPECTATIONS, MEANING & PURPOSE, EXISTENTIAL CRISES, SPIRITUAL CONCERNS, SPIRITUAL EMERGENCIES
Who I work with
I work with adults over 18 from a wide range of backgrounds and identities. My practice is grounded in respect for the different cultural, relational, spiritual, and social contexts that shape our lives.
People come to me for many different reasons. Some are living with anxiety, the effects of trauma, grief, difficult family or relationship dynamics, or major life transitions. Others feel stuck, creatively blocked, disconnected from themselves, or dissatisfied with parts of their lives.
I also have experience supporting people navigating ADHD, bipolar disorder, borderline personality patterns, psychosis, and chronic health conditions, including when these experiences exist alongside trauma, relationship difficulties, or questions of identity and meaning.
When helpful, I collaborate with other members of your care team, including physicians and psychiatrists, and can offer referrals to other healthcare or body-based practitioners. I take a holistic view of the person while remaining clear about the scope and limits of my role.
therapeutic approaches I use
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AEDP® is a therapy model grounded in the idea that many symptoms develop as ways of protecting us from emotions that once felt overwhelming, unsafe, or unsupported.
Rather than staying only in thoughts or analysis, AEDP helps people slow down and notice what is happening underneath these protective patterns: in emotions, the nervous system, and the body itself.
Together, we explore the difference between defenses, emotions like shame or anxiety that block deeper feelings, and core emotions such as sadness, anger, fear, joy, or grief that carry important information about our needs, boundaries, losses, and desires.
A tool often used in AEDP called the Change Triangle helps make these patterns easier to understand and work with. The goal is not simply insight, but helping emotions move through in a safe, supported way so people feel more connected to themselves, more emotionally free, and less stuck in survival patterns.
Learn more at www.aedpinstitute.org
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Somatic therapy is a broad field of approaches that recognize the role of the body in our emotional and psychological lives. My work integrates somatic inquiry within an AEDP framework and is informed by ideas from Somatic Experiencing and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, particularly around how our nervous systems respond to stress, trauma, and perceived safety.
Please read more about how I approach Somatic Therapy here
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Transpersonal therapy explores dimensions of human experience that extend beyond conventional psychological concerns, including spirituality, consciousness, and questions of existence and meaning. My approach is also influenced by existential psychotherapy and Jungian and other depth-psychological traditions, particularly their attention to the unconscious, symbolism, and the search for meaning.
Please read more about how I approach transpersonal therapy here.
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Dreamwork is an approach that explores the images, symbols, and stories that arise in our dreams. Rather than interpreting dreams in a fixed way, it invites us to stay curious about what our dreams might reveal about our inner world, emotions, and unresolved experiences. Working with dreams can open new perspectives, deepen self-understanding, and connect unconscious material with our waking life in meaningful ways.
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Expressive arts therapy uses creative processes such as drawing, writing, imagery, movement, or metaphor to help access experiences that are difficult to put into words. It can be especially helpful when emotions feel stuck, unclear, or overwhelming. Rather than focusing on artistic skill, the emphasis is on expression and exploration. The creative process becomes a way of understanding inner experience more deeply, bypassing habitual thinking and allowing new meaning, emotion, and insight to emerge.
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Mindfulness involves developing the capacity to notice our thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations with curiosity rather than immediately reacting to or judging them. I integrate mindfulness throughout my work, helping clients become more aware of their internal experiences, recognize habitual patterns, and develop a greater capacity to stay present with difficult emotions. This can involve guided exercises, grounding practices, or simply slowing down to notice what's happening in the moment.
“Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion.”
— bell hooks