How I Help
What's Underneath Mental Health Symptoms
At our core, all humans have the capacity to:
Experience ourselves as worthy of existence and connection
Have, embrace, and communicate our needs and take in nourishment
Trust others enough to let ourselves be known
Say no and have a will
Be imperfect and still feel good enough
Have vibrant sexuality that can coexist with love
Why We Disconnect from Ourselves
When we learn to see any of these aspects of our humanity as unacceptable or as driving others away, we become caught in an inner struggle: we disconnect from these living aspects of our humanity in exchange for safety and belonging. But they don't go away, and fighting them takes a lot of energy. As this way of relating to ourselves persists into adulthood, we may develop mental health symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. We may feel that underneath the surface, something is wrong with us, and we may be torn between the desire to eradicate these aspects of ourselves (such as our needs or our will or our vulnerability), and the desire to reclaim them.
How Disconnecting Affects our Bodies
When we disconnect from these deeply important parts of ourselves, we are likely also to tighten and constrict areas of our bodies. Reconnecting with these important aspects of ourselves emotionally and cognitively is also a process of reconnecting with our bodies. When we develop the capacity and sense of safety to listen to our bodies, this supports us in feeling present and connected to ourselves, to our lives, and to others. We stop seeing ourselves only through others’ eyes and instead experience ourselves from the inside. The ways we have learned to protect ourselves from pain are still available to us when we need them, AND we also have increased capacity for connection, joy, aliveness, and love.
How Therapy Works
Therapy can help you to see yourself more clearly, with less shame. It is a collaborative process that we practice together, with mindful awareness of the present moment at the heart of our work. We bring our curiosity to the symptoms that trouble you, without trying to forcefully bypass them, and we come closer to knowing--in an embodied way--the strategies you have developed to adapt to the challenges of life and relationships.
Our curious attention is the warm light that allows these symptoms to soften, and as you begin to see yourself more clearly you will naturally, without efforting, begin to relate to yourself and others with more compassion. As compassion increases, aliveness and authenticity and connection also increase.
We don't need to focus on the past to do this work, though we can explore it when you want to. Your patterns live in your life now, in the ways that you see yourself and relate to your emotions and to other people. What this work yields is not a corrected version of you, but a more present, solid, and alive version of you: you become more fully who you are.
Therapeutic Approaches
My work draws on multiple modalities, but they share a common foundation:
1Healing is not about fixing what's wrong with you but about restoring connection to what's been lost: to your body, your emotions, your will, and the parts of yourself you learned to suppress or hide.
2The places you're stuck live not only in your thinking, but in your body and your relational patterns, which means they can be reached directly, in the present moment, without relying solely on talking about the past.
Below are the therapeutic modalities I draw from. Together, we will find what works best for you.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
Bringing curiosity and awareness to your mind, body, and emotions in the present moment, including the ways you've learned to disconnect from your own experience. With awareness comes increased agency and choice.
Somatic Psychotherapy
A body-centered approach that works with sensation, tension, and nervous system responses to access and release what talk alone can't always reach.
NARM (NeuroAffective Relational Model)
A depth-oriented approach that addresses how early relational experiences shape identity, self-worth, and the capacity for connection, helping to resolve old patterns so that authenticity, aliveness, and genuine contact with others become possible.
Gestalt Psychotherapy
An approach grounded in the idea that what hasn't been fully felt or expressed persists as tension, repetitive patterns, and emotional charge, and that bringing full awareness to these patterns in the present moment is what allows them to release and change.
IFS (Internal Family Systems)
A therapeutic modality based on the understanding that the mind is naturally made up of different parts, and that healing comes from learning to relate to all of them with curiosity and compassion rather than trying to silence or override them.
Holistic and Transpersonal Counseling
Approaching therapy as more than symptom reduction, honoring the spiritual, creative, and meaning-making dimensions of who you are.
“Real fearlessness is the product of tenderness. It comes from letting the world tickle your heart, your raw and beautiful heart. You are willing to open up, without resistance or shyness, and face the world. You are willing to share your heart with others.”
— Chögyam Trungpa
Let’s Explore How I Can Help
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