I am passionate about guiding you to love yourself and build up your resilience to take on all of life’s challenges.
I strive to empower you to make positive changes in your life. Some areas of treatment focus include:
Working Together
Stronger – that’s what you want to be – and can be.
I strive to create a safe place for you to share your most vulnerable thoughts and experiences.
In this safe place, we will develop the trust it takes to uncover how your past experiences may be preventing you from living your best life.
The road to growth is not easy. This will take facing some difficult realities about how you can change not only your behavior, but also your perception.
I will share my knowledge of various techniques and strategies to give you the tools you need. This process will make you stronger and ready to take on life’s challenges.
Now is the time for you to put yourself first and invest in your future!
We will then discuss how you can tolerate the big emotions preventing you from fully engaging in your life.
Additionally, I approach improving body image and self-esteem using the concepts of Health at Every Size (HAES) and intuitive eating. I am a member of the Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH) and use their guidance and resources.
A customized approach is created so you can achieve your goals and reach your maximum personal potential.
At the heart of our work is a Strength-Based approach. This model shifts from a traditional deficit-based approach to promote overall health by recognizing your strengths and competencies as the foundation of our work together.
Through experience and training, I have gained extensive knowledge of treatment methods and therapeutic techniques. In addition to my focus on strengths, I often utilize:
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) – incorporates acceptance and mindfulness to achieve committed action. The objective of ACT is not to avoid or eliminate difficult feelings but to learn how to embrace them without overreacting to them.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – an action-oriented approach focuses on developing personal coping strategies to solve current problems and change unhelpful cognitive patterns.
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) – teaches you concrete skills to help tolerate your emotions, reduce judgment, live in the present moment, and enhance your interpersonal skills.
- Family Systems – assists with examining how our core familial relationships have impacted our values, ability to relate to others, and skills when it comes to emotional regulation.
- Health at Every Size (HAES) and intuitive eating – seeks to de-emphasize weight loss and, instead, aims to be inclusive for people of all sizes. The focus is on honoring your body and becoming more in-tune.
Identification of how the various systems in your life (family, culture, work, society, etc.) have impacted how you view yourself, others, and the world will be our initial focus. We will then discuss how you can tolerate the big emotions preventing you from fully engaging in your life.
A Bit About Me
To encourage sharing yourself with me, I offer a few insights into my life outside the office:
- Listening to podcasts is one of my favorite coping skills as it keeps my mind distracted and I usually learn something!
- I have two cats named Pancetta and Mascarpone (aka Ham and Cheese) that I absolutely love. I believe that pets can be such a great source of comfort.
- Anywhere by water tends to be my happy place. I love to spend time by Lake Michigan reading a book or just listening to the waves.
Qualifications & Certifications
- Master’s Degree in Counseling from Marymount University
- Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in Illinois and Minnesota
- Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) Training
- Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT) Training
- Telemental Health Provider
- Member of the Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH)
We can help!
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