Specialties

“If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.” -Audre Lorde

In our current dominant culture, we often absorb messages of what to accept as “normal”. This includes rampant oppression, which exists on many levels, ranging from institutional to interpersonal. These messages are so widely reinforced and accepted that they can tragically lead to internalized forms of oppression in which we believe (subconsciously or consciously) the dominant narrative about our identities. This can also be the case when working through identities we hold that carry privilege. Examining and unburdening ourselves of these internalized narratives is a necessary step in true liberation, which can be supported in our work together.

As a proud member of the queer community, I am honored to serve as a soft place to land while deconstructing heteronormative values that many queer people find themselves surrounded by. Blazing a trail that honors your true self is the legacy of those who came before us. With all of the joy and struggle that may come with it, the experience can be beautiful, and at times daunting.

Whether it is navigating relationships, life stages, gender identity and expression, or building and maintaining community, people who identify as LGBTQIA+ inherently experience the world in a unique and wonderful way. Reflection and emotional processing of this experience can be essential in celebration, while building resilience and endurance for the road ahead.

“People ask me, ‘Have you tried yoga? Kombucha? This special water?’ And I don’t have the energy to explain that yes, I’ve tried them. I’ve tried crystals and healing drum circles and prayer and everything. What I want to try is acceptance. I want to see what happens if I can simply accept myself for who I am.” -Alice Wong, Disability Visibility

Our identity, our values, and our view on worthiness can be challenged in a deep and disorienting way in the light of a new diagnosis or disability. Ableism, from external and internal sources, is imbedded in almost everything we do and see, complicating the picture of “adjustment” to this new reality.

In our time together, we may be processing grief, honoring strength, and navigating what a new diagnosis may mean for you. It can be ongoing and lifelong work, and starting within the support of a therapeutic relationship may serve as a grounded place to begin building new meaning from.

“In today’s America, we tend to think of healing as something binary: either we’re broken or we’re healed from that brokenness. But that’s not how healing operates, and it’s almost never how human growth works. More often, healing and growth take place on a continuum, with innumerable points between utter brokenness and total health.”
-Resmaa Menakem, My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Mending of Our Bodies and Hearts

Trauma changes us. It can shift our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. It is important to honor what has carried you through your traumatic experience(s), and explore reconstructing narratives in order to create space for you to heal. Whether it is unpacking generational trauma, childhood trauma, chronic trauma, or an acute traumatic event, it takes care and diligence to find true healing.

Addressing trauma comes in as many different forms as there are experiences. Honoring that there are layers to true healing, our work addressing trauma together will be directed by the pace that feels best for you.

“Grief is not a disorder, a disease or a sign of weakness. It is an emotional, physical, and spiritual necessity, the price you pay for love. The only cure to grief is to grieve.” –Rabbi Earl Grollman

Grief comes in many forms. We may be walking through grief of a lost loved one, of an unrealized hope for our lives, or changes in relationships. Loss can feel exceptionally disorienting and incredibly isolating. In loss, your world is turned upside down and yet the world around you continues to move forward.

We exist in a dominant culture that requires us to push through these experiences, get back to “normal”, and dismiss our often all-encompassing feelings of grief and loss. In our work together, we will create space for the complexity and pain of your experience with grief.

The call of a professional care provider is an incredible, rewarding, and beautiful experience. It can also come with an extreme amount of responsibility and pressure. This is all happening within the context of our greater healthcare system, which is often reinforcing ideas of capacity and timelines that do not allow for the vital emotional processing of what is seen and held throughout your work.

With my history of working in crisis stabilization, community mental health, and hospital settings, I am uniquely positioned to understand the complex experiences that may arise in serving as a provider to your community.