Life is complicated
MY EXPERIENCE
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with a license from the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors (#70175).
I graduated from the Masters of Art in Counseling program at St. Edward’s University, Austin, TX in August of 2012. I began seeing therapy clients in January of 2012 at Capital Area Counseling and continued to see a handful of clients there until December of 2016. I also have a Bachelors of Environmental Design from the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University.
I have extensive training and personal experience in Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) and Dynamic Enriched Experiential Psychotherapy (DEEP). I am devoted to on-going and continued training through workshops, reading, and my own personal work.
WHO AM I
As is the case with so much in life, I came to discover my passion for psychotherapy through a somewhat circuitous and unique process, a process that I have come to cherish and love. I have worked in the non-profit and creative fields for much of my professional career. Throughout my life, creative and personal expression have always resonated with my deeper self—A core self that believes we each have an inherent uniqueness worthy of being explored, understood, and shared with the world. I believe creative expression can be a profoundly powerful means of growth and understanding both of the external and internal world, and I bring that into my therapy practice. I continue to pursue artistic expression through my passion for photography and painting. I believe imagery and metaphor can be a compelling means of expressing the internal landscape. Through my own creative process, personal therapy work, and internal exploration, I came to realize how deeply the work of psychotherapy resonated with this core self.
HOW I WORK
In it’s most distilled-down description, I believe in curiosity and process. My therapy style is focused on building an authentic and emotionally-engaged connection with each and every one of my clients by creating a safe, trusting environment from the moment I meet them. I have an unwavering faith in the inherent goodness and flame of truth that lives within us all and work with my clients from this stance. I also believe every person deserves patience and understanding as to their unique needs in the therapeutic process and that the authentic and secure relationship I develop with them can lead to profound transformation.
As mentioned above, my model of psychotherapy, or philosophy as I prefer to describe it, is based in DEEP and AEDP, both philosophies of psychotherapy that focus on creating a safe and secure attachment relationship between client and therapist—between you and me. This relationship and the environment of safety that is created lead to profound, transformative, and lasting change.
This style of work also has a strong focus on acceptance and emotional engagement with what is being felt and experienced in the present. This moment-to-moment focus on what is being felt, both in the psyche and in the body, brings about an increased internal awareness along with an understanding of and connection with the deeper self.
I hold a strong belief in mindfulness and the acceptance and compassion it can bring about in the therapeutic relationship and in life as a whole. This connection to the deeper self can often feel foreign yet simultaneously well-known and familiar, all the while opening up and creating the strength to turn towards what may have otherwise felt unbearable. Through this way of working, defenses that have often been at the forefront driving actions, behaviors, and emotions begin to melt away and hopefulness, growth, and calm can begin to emerge. Often times, new perspectives on happiness, suffering, and other intense feelings and emotions—both “positive” and “negative”—will emerge and be explored. I believe in the innate truth and authenticity of this philosophy, both from the work I’ve done and continue to do with clients and the personal work I’ve done and also continue to do.