New to Grow
My counseling style is pretty laid back. I have been described as supportive, caring, and compassionate, with a pretty good sense of humor. I like to focus on identifying your strengths and helping you to maximize them to overcome your obstacles. I'm here to help you sort through the things that are difficult right now and offer you a safe place to be open and honest without fear of judgment. You have taken the first and most important step by reaching out for help.
Your first session with the me will be different from future visits. The initial visit is a period for you and I to get to know each other and get an idea of how to proceed. Future visits will be more therapeutic in nature. For example, in your second session, you may explore a specific symptom, problem, or past trauma you mentioned in the first session.
My greatest strength as a therapist is to focus on building a strong therapeutic relationship characterized by empathy, active listening, and helping the client to relax and feel free to tell their story. My key traits include being nonjudgmental, maintaining professional boundaries, demonstrating cultural competence, and utilizing flexibility to adapt treatment approaches. A great therapist is curious, self-aware, and patient.
Clients often prefer approaches that are supportive and validating while also offering structure, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or integrative techniques. Individual counseling offers personalized, one-on-one therapy providing a confidential, safe space to address specific mental health needs, such as anxiety, depression, or personal growth. It facilitates tailored treatment plans, deeper self-awareness, coping skill development, and enhanced communication skills without the discomfort of sharing in a group setting.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a highly effective, short-term, goal-oriented therapy that treats mental health issues by changing negative thought patterns and behaviors. It is widely recommended because it is evidence-based, focuses on practical, current solutions .
Motivational Interviewing
In a supportive manner, a motivational interviewer encourages clients to talk about their need for change and their own reasons for wanting to change. The role of the interviewer is mainly to evoke a conversation about change and commitment. The interviewer listens and reflects back the client’s thoughts so that the client can hear their reasons and motivations expressed back to them. Motivational interviewing is generally short-term counseling that requires just one or two sessions, though it can also be included as an intervention along with other, longer-term therapies.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
Mindfulness therapy is used to treat anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and stress by training individuals to observe thoughts and sensations without judgment. It reduces rumination and emotional reactivity, improving mental clarity, focus, and self-compassion. This approach fosters a calmer, more present-focused life, often reducing physical symptoms of stress like high blood pressure.
Christian Counseling
Christian counseling therapy integrates evidence-based psychological techniques with biblical principles and Christian values to treat the whole person—mind, body, and spirit. It offers a safe space to navigate mental health challenges like anxiety or depression while aligning healing with faith, spiritual growth, prayer, and scriptural guidance.
Trauma-Focused CBT
Trauma-focused therapy is crucial because it directly addresses the root causes of trauma-related emotional, behavioral, and cognitive issues, fostering healing rather than just managing symptoms. By providing a safe environment to process traumatic memories, it reduces PTSD symptoms, anxiety, and depression while building coping skills and resilience.