Is this for you?
Individual therapy is for adults who know something needs to change but may not be sure exactly what, or how to make it happen.
You may be struggling with anxiety, stress, depression, grief, a difficult transition, relationship problems, past experiences, or patterns that seem to repeat themselves no matter how hard you try to change them. You may function well on the outside while privately feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, frustrated, or unsure of yourself.
Some clients come to therapy because of a specific problem. Others simply recognize that they don't want to keep living or relating the way they have been.
What we can work on
- Anxiety that won't quiet down: Your mind doesn't seem to have an off switch. You replay conversations, anticipate problems, and imagine every way something could go wrong. Therapy can help you understand what's feeding the worry and develop healthier ways to respond when fear takes over.
- Depression that's drained the color out: Things you used to enjoy don't land the same way. Motivation is hard to find, connection feels distant, and getting through the day takes more effort than it should. Therapy gives you space to understand what you're experiencing and begin taking steps toward a different way of living.
- Stress that's become too much: Work, family, relationships, a major transition. Sometimes life simply asks more than you have to give. Therapy can help you slow down, see what's actually happening, and build healthier ways of managing what's in front of you.
- Relationship patterns that keep repeating: Even when your partner or family member isn't in the room, relationships can be a major source of distress. Therapy can help you understand the patterns you keep falling into, communicate more effectively, set healthier boundaries, and decide how you want to show up in your relationships.
- A transition that left you unsure: Marriage, divorce, a career change, parenting, loss, relocation. Big changes can leave you questioning what comes next. Therapy provides a place to process the change, clarify what matters, and move forward with greater confidence.
- Old wounds that still hurt: Some experiences keep affecting you long after they happen. Therapy can help you process grief, regret, shame, or painful experiences without letting the past dictate every part of your present.
What you're really after
You may not simply want your symptoms to go away.
You may want to understand yourself better, feel more grounded, become more confident in how you respond to difficult situations, and experience healthier relationships with the people who matter to you. You want change that lasts beyond the therapy office.
What a session is actually like
A session is collaborative, confidential, and purposeful. We may talk through something that happened during the week, slow down a recurring emotional reaction, explore a relationship pattern, examine thoughts that are contributing to distress, or practice a new way of responding. Sometimes the work is primarily about understanding. Sometimes it is practical and skill-focused. Often, it is both.
I provide guidance, perspective, and tools, but you remain an active participant in the process. When appropriate, I may provide resources or between-session exercises so that the work continues beyond the 50 minutes we spend together.
How I work
My primary approach is Emotionally Focused Therapy, combined with other evidence-based approaches depending on your needs, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Internal Family Systems, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, and family-systems perspectives. EFT helps us look beneath the surface of reactions and behaviors to understand the emotions and relational patterns driving them. CBT can help identify patterns between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Solution-Focused work can help identify practical steps toward the future you want.
My training as a Marriage and Family Therapist means I don't view individual concerns in isolation. Even when you come to therapy individually, your relationships, family history, environment, and patterns of interacting with others can be important parts of understanding what you're experiencing. Rather than forcing every client into one treatment model, I use these approaches as tools to help us understand your particular situation and determine what is most likely to help.
What to expect
The first session
The first session is primarily about understanding you. What brought you to therapy, what you've been experiencing, what you've already tried, and what you hope will change. It's also an opportunity for you to experience how I work and decide whether we seem like a good fit.
Following sessions
Subsequent sessions may include checking in on what has happened since we last met, exploring deeper patterns, developing practical skills, processing difficult experiences, and identifying steps you can practice between sessions. The work will evolve as we understand more about what you need.
How we track progress
We return regularly to the goals you identified at the beginning of therapy and consider whether you're seeing meaningful changes in your thoughts, emotions, behavior, relationships, and everyday life. Therapy should have direction. If something isn't helping, we can talk about it and adjust our approach.
You don't have to be certain before you reach out
Reaching out can be the hardest part. You may be unsure whether your situation is bad enough, uncertain what therapy will actually be like, or simply tired of trying to figure it out on your own. A free 15-minute consultation is a low-pressure way to start. We'll talk briefly about what's going on, and you can decide from there whether I'm the right fit.
