Therapy
Grief and Loss
Grief and loss are often highly misunderstood because they are not only about death. Grief is in all of life and is as complex as love, but people tend to avoid talking about grief. It helps to have someone to sit with you in the discomfort and sift through the wide range of emotions without judgment, and then help you find a path through the dark forest of pain and loss.
Trauma & PTSD
There are those traumas that lead to PTSD symptoms that are obvious to us, and there are traumas from our past that result in anxiety, panic, fear, denial, and hopelessness which don't seem so obviously related. Our bodies respond to traumas in ways that affect our ability to thrive later in life and our relationships with others. Therapy can help provide a safe space to process the complicated and painful parts of your story and help you to understand yourself and work towards healthier coping skills.
Anxiety, Life Transitions, Serious Illness, and End of Life Issues
Life is uncertain and definitely imperfect. We grow up with ideas about how our lives will look and what we will do, but it rarely turns out exactly as we imagined. Transitions seem to come at every turn in life, and when things don't look the way we think or expect they should, it can result in feelings of anxiety or depression. When we experience anything that feels out of our control and we're uncertain of the outcome, our fears can take over and lead us to shut down emotionally. I am comfortable with having conversations about difficult subjects, serious illness, end-of-life issues, and death.
In therapy, you can learn and practice skills that can help you navigate the difficult experiences and better understand the human response and protective system.
How Does Therapy Work?
First Steps
This was the first step! You were curious and wanted to explore how to get the help you desire. You can fill out your information on this website and let me know how to contact you. We will communicate about what kind of help you are looking for and what type of appointment you would like to schedule.
Insurance, Forms, and All That Necessary Stuff
I can take some insurance plans and provide billing for most. If I am not in-network with your insurance, I can provide a superbill for you to submit for out-of-network benefits. We will talk about whether you would like to use an insurance benefit and details about that, what you can expect to be charged for the initial and consequent sessions, and information about what forms need to be filled out before your initial appointment.
Initial Appointment
If you've never had much experience with counseling, it can feel a bit daunting to have that first meeting! During your first appointment, I will gather basic information and get some history like they do at the doctor's office so I can get a clearer picture of what your situation is and whether what you need and what I can offer are a good fit. I will also check in with you at the end of the first session to make sure you still want to move ahead with therapy and ask questions you might have.
Working Together on What Brings You to Therapy
During consequent sessions, I will continue to gather information to better understand the concerns you have and we will come up with a plan together to work on the things you have specified. We will also figure out how often to meet based on your situation. Hopefully, having this information will help you to feel more comfortable and have some idea of how therapy might look.