I think the most important thing to know about me is that I always strive to be open, honest, fair, and accepting of everyone I interact with, professionally or personally. I believe my number one goal as a counselor should always be to provide a safe, caring environment for clients to establish their goals based on their own measure of success and share their thoughts and feelings without worry about being judged in any way.
I started my journey with counseling my senior year of high school in an internship at an adolescent residential treatment facility helping run equine and small animal assisted psychotherapy groups. I then joined the military, where I was focused on spending my career as a psychologist helping active duty military and veterans. After two years, I was medically discharged due to some chronic health conditions and had to find a new path. I went to Xavier University for my Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and am now a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor.
I have experience working with a variety of mental health disorders and life difficulties, especially issues related to relationship concerns, trauma, autism, depression, anxiety, ADHD, career difficulties, improving motivation to live healthier, and coping with stressful life changes. I have worked with individuals aged 5 to 98 in individual therapy, family therapy, and group therapy settings. I have completed additional training courses outside of my initial degree in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, couples and family therapy, trauma-focused treatment, Prolonged Exposure Therapy, and EMDR. In addition to those treatment modalities, I frequently use CBT, Reality Therapy, and mindfulness techniques to assist clients in building the skills they need to reach their goals.
Additional areas of focus: Relationship issues, Family conflicts, Grief, Eating disorders, Sleeping disorders, Anger management, Career difficulties, Bipolar disorder, ADHD, Adoption and foster care, Aging and geriatric issues, Autism and Asperger Syndrome, Blended family issues, Caregiver issues and stress, Codependency, Commitment issues, Communication problems, Control issues, Coping with natural or human-caused disaster, Divorce and separation, Domestic violence, Eating and food-related issues, Family problems, Fertility issues, First responder issues, Forgiveness, Guilt and shame, Impulsivity, Infidelity, Isolation / loneliness, Jealousy, Life purpose, Veteran and Armed Forces Issues, Money and financial issues, Mood disorders, Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD, Panic disorder and panic attacks, Paranoia, Phobias, Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships, Post-traumatic stress, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Self-harm, Self-love, Sexual assault and abuse, Smoking / vaping cessation, Social anxiety and phobia, Visually impaired, Women's issues, Workplace issues, Young adult issues
Clinical approaches: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Mindfulness Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Trauma-Focused Therapy
OH LPCC E.1800849-SUPV
DC LPC PRC200001437