Approach to Mental Health

I approach each therapeutic relationship with openness, curiosity, and deep respect for the complexity of each person’s story. No two people suffer in quite the same way, and no two paths through life are identical. Together, we will have honest conversations about your experiences, struggles, relationships, and the patterns that may be keeping you stuck.

Growth often requires us to look directly at parts of ourselves we have avoided, defended against, or never fully had the space to understand. Therapy is not always comfortable, and meaningful change rarely happens only within the safety of the therapy hour. I encourage active reflection and engagement beyond our sessions as part of the work of becoming more fully yourself.

I view therapy as a shared human experience. My role is not to tell you who you are, but to walk alongside you for a period of time while helping you better understand yourself, your history, and the emotional forces shaping your life. Just as every mountain has its own terrain, every person’s journey carries its own challenges, contradictions, and possibilities. I tailor my approach to the individual rather than forcing people into rigid formulas or techniques.

My intention is to create an environment where aspects of yourself that may have been silenced, neglected, or underdeveloped can begin to emerge and take shape. I believe many of our present struggles are rooted in relational histories, unconscious patterns, losses, and adaptations that once served an important purpose but may no longer fit the life we are trying to live. Sometimes we cling tightly to what is familiar simply to avoid the pain and uncertainty of letting go.

My work is primarily depth-oriented and psychodynamic, with a strong emphasis on somatic grounding. Understanding our experiences intellectually is important, but insight alone is often not enough. Our histories are carried not only in the stories we tell about ourselves, but also in our emotional and bodily responses: the ways we react, protect ourselves, connect with others, and anticipate what might happen next. Therapy therefore involves creating enough safety and grounding to experience and metabolize what may have been understood intellectually but never fully processed emotionally.

My approach is particularly influenced by Nancy McWilliams's work and the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual. I also draw from existential and interpersonal psychotherapy, Schema Therapy, EMDR, Buddhist psychology and Eastern philosophy, somatic approaches, Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, psychedelic medicine, feminism, and social constructionism. Rather than applying these approaches as rigid techniques, I draw from them according to the needs of the person sitting across from me.

My training was grounded in psychological science, while my clinical experience has taught me that research findings and diagnostic categories alone cannot fully capture the complexity of an individual life.

I especially enjoy working with adults and older adults who want to understand themselves more deeply, not simply reduce symptoms. Many of the people I work with are thoughtful and capable, yet repeat patterns in relationships, struggle with shame or self-criticism, carry unresolved experiences from the past, or simply sense that something in their lives is not quite right. Our work can include questions of identity, relationships, meaning, loss, suffering, mortality, and personal transformation.