"do not be pushed around by the fears in your mind. be led by the dreams in your heart."

—roy t. bennett


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I know that coming to that point in life where you are desperate enough to reach out to a stranger for help is a scary, surreal place to be.  I have such respect for any person who has the strength to seek help in their time of need. My goal is to create and hold open a safe, peaceful space where you can come and work on the issues you want to work on, set the goals that you want to set.  I will be there to support and guide you as needed.  I believe we are all vulnerable and imperfect and at various times struggle to find our way in this very beautiful and brutal world. My hope is that when you come through my door you will feel the immediate exhale and begin the healing.


I received my Masters Degree in Social Work from Syracuse University and obtained my Licensed Clinical Social Worker title through the state of Virginia.  I have held many positions in the past including school social worker, therapist at a adolescent psychiatric in-patient hospital, a community drug and alcohol prevention specialist and therapist for a hospital employee assistant program.  

 

“why bother? because right now, there is someone out there with a wound in the exact shape of your words

— Sean Dougherty


 

Although I utilize an integrative approach tailored to each specific client, my subspecialty is Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT).  This is a modality that focuses a person's present and future circumstances and goals rather than past experiences. SFBT aims to develop realistic solutions as quickly as possible, rather than keeping the client in therapy for long periods of time.



I am a Certified Daring Way™ Facilitator. The Daring Way™ is a highly experiential methodology based on the research of Dr. Brené Brown. Dr. Brown is a researcher from Texas who studies shame, vulnerability, and wholehearted living. The Daring Way™ teaches shame resiliency skills as a way of handling vulnerable feelings. It is a simple yet powerful way of navigating the complex world of feelings and bringing healing to places within us that were previously dysfunctional and fragmented.

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“life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage”

—anais nin


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Additionally, I am trained and certified to implement the BOLD™ curriculum for adolescents who want to dive deep into self discovery, shame resilience, vulnerability, courage and personal leadership. This off shoot of the Daring Way™ program is filled with fun, experiential activities that facilitate meaningful conversations that will equip the 11-18 year old with confidence, courage, compassion and connection to show up being their best self: BRAVE and BOLD.


It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming... if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
— Theodore Roosevelt