Therapy Services
virtual counseling for
life transitions, GRIEF & LOSS, AND ANGER MANAGEMENT
Washington and Michigan
“the most common form of dEspair is not being who you are”
-by Kierkegaard
If you do not feel grounded and therefore not yourself, it turns to despair. As you begin telling me your story, I will be listening in a way that you can really feel heard. What do you want? That is most important, not what others are telling you.
When grounded in who you are, the right questions come more easily. I believe it is your authentic self that wants to call the shots. When you are true to yourself, you are more focused and the path forward is clearer. The road may not be smooth. But with teamwork and your courage you will get you through it.
Anger Understood . . .
Instead of management I use the term understood. Management implies control. Clients come to me after years of trying to control their anger. It does not work. So, how do you begin to understand it? First, know you are NOT your feelings. Secondly, feelings are driven by at least one question. When reacting to anger before knowing that question, you say and do things you later regret. It is like driving without a map, or a clear destination, yet stomping on the gas, anyways! Later when your thinking slows down, you see the situation more accurately. Slowing down in the first place is the first step when angry. It gives you the presence of mind to respond in a way you can live with. In our first session you will begin to learn the skill of slowing your brain down to the point of knowing what it is asking you.
Grief & Loss
Grief can feel like puzzle pieces being thrown across the floor and then having to put them back together without the picture from the box. You don’t have a vision of what your life will look like. This fog can make you feel crazy! You are not. Let me help you find the four corner pieces to self care needed to grieve well. Eventually, you will begin to reimagine your future. But for now there is no time line, just your need to say what is on your mind. In the beginning it is that simple.
Life Transitions
Our lives change whether we want them to or not. Sometimes it is out of our control. Other times, our feelings are telling us something needs to be changed, but what? Then there are those times that family or friends think very differently than we do. Decisions get difficult and frustrating. What is right? Where do I go? What do I do first? Let us answer those questions together.
Explore
Here you get to talk as much as needed about what brought you here and anything else you believe I need to know. I will ask questions to further understand your situation. By the end of this stage, we will have identified your goals.
Build
Now that we know what you want, we can build a framework that includes skills, interventions, objectives, and long-term goals.
Practice
This is where we practice the skills in session until you are ready to use them in reaching your goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
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No. The majority of my clients prefer online so I’ve transitioned to just online.
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No. At this time, the practice is focused on therapeutic work with individuals 18 years and older.
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$130/ 60 minutes
$65/ 30 minutes
$195/ 90 minutes
$260/ 120 minutes
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I am only accepting out-of-pocket payment at this time.
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Venmo: 206-503-1675
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At the beginning of each session.
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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is an evidence-based therapy developed specifically to change the way we manage our brains, our thinking, and our feelings in order to help us to be grounded. The more grounded, the more authentic we are. Therefore, we can view the world more accurately, resulting in better decisions.
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Dialectical Behavioral Therapy provides clients with new skills to manage painful emotions and decrease conflict in relationships. DBT focuses on providing skills in four key areas. First, mindfulness focuses on improving an individual’s ability to accept and be present in the current moment. Second, distress tolerance is geared toward increasing a person’s tolerance of negative emotion rather than trying to escape from it. Third, emotion regulation covers strategies to manage and change intense emotions that are causing problems in a person’s life. Fourth, interpersonal effectiveness consists of techniques that allow a person to communicate with others in a way that is assertive, maintains self-respect, and strengthens relationships.
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Strength-based Therapy is a type of positive counseling that focuses more on your internal strengths and resourcefulness, and less on weaknesses, failures, and shortcomings. This focus sets up a positive mindset that helps you build on your best qualities, find your strengths, improve resilience, and change your worldview to one that is more accurate. That attitude, in turn, can help your expectations of yourself and others become more reasonable.