Who do you work with?
Women: I help women to centralize their own needs and vitality, transform painful inter-generational and relational patterns, stay grounded through fertility challenges and new motherhood, and establish healthy boundaries and nourishing relationships. I work with adult women of all ages and backgrounds as they navigate difficult life transitions, heal traumas, and establish vital and healthy lives.
Couples: I guide couples of all identities to transform harmful patterns to loving gestures, learn to speak the truth, develop healthy patterns of relating, improve sex, adjust to new parenthood, and breathe life into their joint vision of life together. I work with couples who are married, unmarried, in open relationships, monogamous, childless, new parents, and experienced parents. I work with couples of all gender identities, cultural backgrounds and sexual orientations. Together, we unearth and change the negative patterns and experiences holding you back and establish habits and experiences that support your mutual flourishing.
What are you trained in?
I am trained in marriage and couples therapy, attachment theory, experiential therapy, emotionally-focused therapy, somatic trauma-resolution, decolonization, perinatal mental health, integration of spirituality and female health. This means that I consider your challenges, strengths, and wounds as inextricably related to your experience in society and your family. Additionally, that your body remembers all of the experiences you have been through and will serve as a guide out of the darkness and into joy and light. I can help you find practices and ways to move through the distress and traumas of the world and connect to your vision, resilience, and joy.
What is individual therapy like with you?
Therapy is always paced according to what works for you. We do not begin by jumping in the deep end - this would be shocking and likely feel unsafe. Instead, we begin by discussing what is causing you distress, the life you would like to be living, and establish a joint vision for how to get there. Sessions may include the following: conversations about what is on your heart, exploring relational wounds and patterns that you want to heal, mindful attention on what sensations are happening in your body, orientation to the present, learning grounding skills for trauma and anxiety, learning about what defines healthy relationships and good self-care, identifying self-destructive behavior, building spiritual identity and developing spiritual practices, identifying your personal strengths and resilience and building on what is already working and what is already amazing about you!
What is couple therapy like with you?
In couple therapy, the primary task is to identify and shift the destructive cycle of conflict you are stuck in. This cycle is created by reactions you have to your partner that are rooted in assumptions, fears, cultural conditioning and prior relational wounds. In couple therapy, I hold space for you and your partner to express reactions and work through stuck places. Together, we identify what happens between you that leads to feelings of disconnection, isolation, criticism, defensiveness, hopelessness, grief, or despair. I integrate mindful awareness of internal experience to help identify and heal tender spots and active wounds that cause reactivity for you and your partner. Sessions may include the following: exploring family patterns of relating, identifying and healing attachment wounds, mapping the cycle of negative interaction, learning healthy and positive communication and listening skills, developing habits of healthy independence and connection, identifying and working with trauma experiences, mindful attention to sensations happening in your body, learning grounding skills to manage relational distress, identifying your strengths and resilience as a couple and amplifying what is working well.
Do you take insurance?
I do not take insurance directly, however, many insurance companies reimburse for services that are "out-of-network." This works in the following way: You pay directly for your therapy services, I provide a bill of service that you submit to your insurance company, and they reimburse you at whatever rate your plan and company cover (this can be anywhere from 0-100%). In order to find out what your reimbursement rate would be for your personal plan, call your insurance company and ask: 1. are out-of-network mental health services covered through my plan and 2. what is the reimbursement rate for out-of-network mental health therapy sessions and 3. is there a limitation for amount of services/reimbursement I can receive on my plan? Please note that if you use insurance for mental health coverage any clinician you work with will be required to give you a formal mental health diagnosis from the DSM-V.
I do not provide reimbursement forms for couples therapy, though some therapists will. This has to do with philosophical and ethical differences of opinion about services and diagnoses in the couple therapy process.
Will you work with my other providers?
With your written permission, I am able to coordinate with other therapists, doctors, midwives, doulas, body-workers, and anyone else who might be central to your care. When this is beneficial, we will discuss what would be helpful, for whom, and why. Your consent is always central to the process of collaboration.
Do you provide online and/or phone therapy?
Yes. I offer video, phone, and masked in-person sessions at this time and have several clients who are completely virtual due to restrictions, location, or logistical needs. If you plan to seek reimbursement from your insurance company, please know that none currently provide reimbursement for phone sessions and not all provide reimbursement for video sessions.