Grief and Loss

Grief and loss are natural parts of the human experience. It includes the loss of any person, experience, relationship, or object that you no longer have, and its absence has created what feels like a hole in ourselves. It often requires us to re-examine our identity and how we interact with the world. It affects how your brain and body function, can make it difficult to perform daily activities, and make relationships with others a challenge.  You might worry if you let yourself feel it, you’ll get overwhelmed and won’t be able to find your way out of it. 

Grief requires us to find a way through it, not around it and that’s a big part the work that we can do together.  Finding a way to make the unbearable bearable is our primary goal and we will do that in a place where you can explore and navigate the loss safely. My role is often to serve as an anchor to ensure that you don’t get lost or overwhelmed as we figure out what the world looks like following your loss. 

Geek Therapy

Geek therapy combines traditional therapy techniques with a client’s interests in things like pop culture, tabletop role playing games, video games, sci-fi, comics, music, film, anime, and many more. Utilizing these interests in session often invites the use of metaphor and storytelling to better discuss, explain and understand relevant topics in a way that enhances understanding. Being able to incorporate these interests into our therapeutic work often creates feelings of connection, comfort, and acceptance.  It’s through this connection and understanding that the real work of therapy can occur in a safe space that you have helped create.  

Relationship Challenges

Relationships with others are tough complicated by the fact that there are so many different types of them in our lives.  From romantic relationships to professional ones to family relationships, each one comes with a distinct set of rules and expectations. Navigating our roles, creating boundaries, and preserving our sense of self as we interact with others can sometimes be a challenge.  Our work together can be about figuring out who you are, who you want to be, and how you want to be present in your relationships in a way with which you are comfortable. 

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Life Transitions

Change is a part of life that is unavoidable. It can be exciting, painful, scary, and magical all at the same time. These changes can be positive, negative, planned or completely unexpected. Navigating these significant transitions can often leave us unsettled, overwhelmed, and anxious. 

Our work together approaching these events can take many forms. I have collaborated with clients to craft strategies to navigate changes that have already happened or plan for an upcoming transition that hasn’t occurred yet. Navigating these types of transitions can result in a need for enhanced coping strategies or an exploration of how your identity has evolved because of them. Together, we can figure out what that looks like for you. 

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LGBTQIA+ and Sexuality

We all exist in a world that can be hectic, unpredictable, and often hurtful to those that are different from the majority in some way. Any group that exists outside of the majority may regularly face inequality, discrimination, judgment, and isolation. Recognizing how those challenges or the fear of them have impacted life choices, relationships, and identity is a critical part of our work together. Creating a safe and judgment free space to explore issues around identity, sexuality, and non-traditional relationships is a core tenet of my work with all of my clients.  

Anxiety and OCD

Anxiety motivates us to prepare for important events and protects us when danger arises. It can become a problem when those feelings of danger stay turned on all of the time. Using evidence based practices like Inference Based CBT and ERP, we work together to craft a plan that helps you learn to tolerate anxiety and teach your brain that the feelings of danger might not be accurate. For OCD clients, the impact to your daily life and the lives of those that are important to you can be debilitating. Together, we work to understand your triggers and craft a response prevention plan to assert control over your anxiety and the compulsions.  

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