I have past trauma but I’m worried that talking about it or thinking about it will just make things worse. What would you say about this?

If this is our first step on the counseling journey let me first say congratulations. Something inside you fought past statistics and mental beariers to acknowledge your need to heal.

Starting this journey can feel uncomfortable and fearful and that is common for any human! You are here because you want to function in your present and future life in a way that honors it.

When trauma or negative experiences in our lives are unhealed they can be triggered or brought back up by the world around us and our interactions wit that world. Each time these feelings come up in a negative situation, there is an affirmation that happens, telling our sub conscience that our fears from past experiences will always come true.

It is my job to provide a safe, supportive and positive space so you can walk through your experiences in a way that may recondition your experience of this world. We can make it through to the other side of trauma where you understand and show compassion to your old self, while gaining the tools to take power over your life and let your new self flourish.

Do I have to talk about my problems or life history with you right away? After all, we will be strangers.

Your therapy sessions are just that; yours. For the time we are together it is my goal to read and follow your lead. We can talk about your day, your dog, or nothing of importance at all. Your first sessions of therapy should be therapeutic in regards to trust building and should assure you that you are in the lead! You are the expert of your own life.

This also means that if at any time you feel I am not the therapist for you, please know that your healing is more important than my ego or your sense of obligation. I firmly believe that a person must truly feel comfortable and compatible with the person they choose to walk along side them. Though most therapy is helpful in any form, when deciding on the therapist for you, you can change practitioners as often as you need if it means finding one you can make long term progress with.

Can I have a family member join me in my counseling? I want to practice speaking my truth and resolving conflict.

I’m a firm believer that the best part of therapy happens outside of therapy. You will be building a tool belt that will start to help you navigate relationships in a new way. This can often lead to the desire to share some common “tools” with the people you care about, and who care bout you.

Forging new relationship dynamics, speaking to your truth, needs and desires, or setting new boundaries can often feel very scary or unsure, depending on how your love map and schema was formed. I am here for whatever you need and providing a guided and mediated space for these goals to be accomplished.

What if I don’t know what I need to talk to someone about, but just feel like my thinking, behavior or general life satisfaction is off, and want to find out what I can do to fix myself?

Let’s start with the statement that you are not broken. You re a work in progress. The human brain is designed to protect and look out for us. Even when life seems so messy to us and we don’t feel like we can cope, it is just our brain’s way of signaling that something in our lives needs attention.

As your mental health counselor, I take the “whole person” approach to counseling and neuropsychology.

What does this mean? The human body and our experiences play hand in hand, meaning that our body and subconscious brain keeps score of all the ways our “wires” have been crossed, all the times we’ve felt helpless, mad, scared or hurt. These ingrained messages have been building since we came into the world and when left unaddressed, start to seep out into our day to day lives, including brain function, the ability to have meaningful relationships with others, and most importantly, with ourselves.

We can very gradually explore through guided questions and conversation to see where you may be at in life, the struggles or concerns you see coming up and what personalized support plan we can come up with! We will evaluate your goals as we goals along and adapt our approach as needed. Like life, therapy ebs and flows…and can be adapted at any time as you get to know more about yourself.

Many of the healthiest clients I have had return to counseling throughout their lives as the continue to adapt nd grow. Often times when there’s nothing “wrong”, as one might describe it.