About
How do I know if I need therapy?
Considering whether to start therapy can be overwhelming and confusing for most people. What is therapy exactly? Do I really need it? Does that mean there is something wrong with me if I do?
My job is to walk with you through this process that takes place in a calm environment and a trusting relationship. Therapy starts with conversation, sometimes tears (happens to the best of us), and often laughter to set goals together of how you want to grow and move forward.
People begin or return to therapy for many reasons. Typically, there has been a life transition or ongoing high stress. Others seek therapy to gain understanding into themselves and their story – knowing therapy can be a helpful and healthy choice even when not in crisis.
Chatting with a friend over coffee or asking a trusted family member for advice can be a helpful part of having community. Therapy provides a unique relationship and space with someone who has specialized training and the gift to know how to move forward in grace.
What does it look like if I want gospel-centered therapy?
Gospel-centered therapy is just that, clinically informed counseling that is centered on our identity in Christ and what that means for our lives here on earth.
This is the foundation that I work from but you get to decide if or how you want that to look in your therapy. In addition to learning new tools and understanding, sessions can involve reading scriptures, prayer, and processing God’s character if you want.
We are all imperfect people. Saved by grace. Living in a broken but beautiful world. That means anyone can benefit from therapy because we all experience suffering. Even if that experience was over 20 years ago.
ABOUT ME
Therapy is such a special process that I am honored to be a part of with each client. I am always touched and inspired by the bravery and perseverance I get to witness.
In such a painful time, clients choose to seek something more. Something new. Something heart-changing. They allow God to meet with them in a different way.
“The principle aim of psychotherapy is not to transport one to an impossible state of happiness, but to help (the client) acquire steadfastness and patience in the face of suffering.” ~C.G Jung
Channeling my creativity is an ongoing journey full of surprises! I started at the University of Texas majoring in Fashion Design. That being said, dressing fashionably for therapy is always an option, but wearing sweat pants to therapy is also encouraged for optimal comfort!
Through working at a residential treatment facility with children in foster care and spending a summer in New York on a mission trip, I knew that God was leading me to something more.
I learned it takes a lot of creativity to navigate relationships, process pain, and pursue unspoken dreams. Earning my Bachelor’s and Master’s in Social Work at the University of Texas in Austin gave me the knowledge I needed to enter into the lives’ of hurting people. It was also a victorious time in college football for the Longhorns! Hook’em!!
That began a path of working with people of all ages affected by various kinds of abuse, life-long medical diagnosis, grief, and relational stress.
I was blessed to work for almost a decade with an agency that provided on-site therapy advocacy in schools for all ages. After becoming a clinical supervisor for other social workers working toward licensure, I also had the honor of being their Clinical Director for several years.
Along the way I became a certified Trust-Based Relational Intervention Educator (TBRI) and then later in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to strengthen relationships and promote healing. I encourage you to read more about both on my site.
Like any human, my story includes many seasons of suffering. The love of Jesus, wrestling through hard questions with the support of community and therapy has strengthened my faith time and time again. God began to weave the gospel of Jesus into my work with clients in a refreshing and deeply transformative way.
I know without a doubt I was created and designed to walk with those whose hearts were broken and shattered. To help pick up those pieces together and watch how in God’s kindness He puts them back together in an extraordinary and glorifying way.
“Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the LORD our God. Those nations will fall down and collapse, but we will rise up and stand firm.” Psalm 20:7-8
I love Jesus. I love being a therapist. I loved tacos before they were printed on t-shirts and bags!
And I love dogs. Finding humor in things because sometimes we just have to laugh. Starting DIY projects, and then restarting them after realizing I forgot about them. Catching up with a friend in a cozy coffee house. Any body of water. Staying active physically and spiritually in a community of other believers to care for my body, mind, and spirit. Pushing into the opportunities that I am given to rise up and stand firm.