It is my pleasure to introduce myself and welcome you to Soul & Psyche Counseling!
personal outlook
©Meadow Lace Photography
Relationship. We were all built for it. Relationships offer us an opportunity for connection that leads to health and happiness. But often, connection and relationship can also leave us vulnerable and hurt. These hurts can reverberate in all areas of life. My hope is that through the therapeutic process, you can feel seen and known. We can explore together the negative and positive effects of your vulnerability and create space to move forward with growth and healing.
I have seen how trauma, and especially trauma done in the context of close relationship, can live on long after the incident or experience. I believe that by working through unmet needs for love and belonging, retraining our brains and bodies to understand that the trauma is over, and developing a life full of self-love and meaningful relationship, you can have the life you’ve been seeking.
specialties
I began my career in 2014, as a counselor working in community mental health and then eventually led the counseling department at a non-profit offering educational and emotional support to teens engaging in high risk behavior. This gave me an opportunity to experience first hand how seeing teens’ supports come together to create safe and restorative spaces can create lasting change.
I have had clinical experience working with depression, anxiety disorders, PTSD, conduct disorders, and self-injurious behaviors (like cutting). While I feel most at home working with teens and young adults, I also see the value in working with families. As a foster parent myself, I have seen the power in families and loved ones offering restorative relationship and healing.
methods and qualifications
My therapeutic approach is firstly, a Person-Centered one. I believe strongly in the ability of relationships to heal and restore. I also use a strengths-based approach in therapy. Everyone has something to offer and by compounding on what already works, we can make real therapeutic progress. Additionally, I work hard to teach people how their brains and bodies interact with another. When things like anxiety pop up, and you understand how and why your body is responding in the way it is, it can be incredibly empowering. I also incorporate Solution-Focused Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for issues relating to anxiety or destructive behaviors.
I earned my Master’s degree in Counseling from Spring Arbor University and did my undergraduate work in Psychology and Sociology. I am a fully licensed counselor in the state of Michigan. I am a board certified member of the National Board for Certified Counselors and a member of the American Counseling Association.
©Meadow Lace Photography
“There is no fear in letting tears come.
Sadness is a gift to avoid the nothingness of numbness, and all the hard places need water.
Grief is a gift, and after a rain of tears, there is always more of you than before.
Rain always brings growth..”