Clients I Work With
I work with late adolescents and young adults who feel lost or aimless in this world, who may have repressed parts of themselves as a means to survive their earlier years and who may not have had the chance to enjoy their childhood or to be a kid. I help these clients to practice feelings identification and awareness of where these feelings reside in the body so that those feelings can then become a source of internal guidance and wisdom. Through increased awareness of one’s emotional life, along with identification of one’s strengths and passions, I can help my clients establish a better sense of direction and empowerment in their choices and lives.
Approach
In my work, I strive to model the patience, acceptance and unconditional compassion that allow for cut-off parts or repressed feelings to come back into the light, so that you can do the same in your life outside of the therapy room.
My overall approach is very warm, affirming and conversational, the opposite of the “blank slate” prototype.
I’ve found that for me and my clients, this way has been the most conducive in allowing one’s defenses to find some rest so that one’s authentic self can take up space.
When we first meet, we’ll take the pulse of where you are now versus where you would like to be.
Then we explore which therapy modalities interest you the most, and work together to create the roadmap to that new reality you’re seeking.
Hint: Everything you need is already within you. We just have to seek out and call on all parts-of-self to connect with your internal wisdom!
Beliefs & Lived Experience
My path to becoming a therapist was an indirect one, starting from my post-art school career in the commercial design world of mid tier home goods. While I enjoyed the work, I remember questioning its importance to me early on and whom my work was actually serving.
It was only a few years later that the US went through the Great Recession, leading to a forced lay off from the design work that had kept me afloat, and at which point I finally decided to follow that quiet inner nudge I’d been feeling since undergrad to pivot my career towards the healing arts.
A second career in art therapy was it for me, as I had long been fascinated by the healing power of the arts, and to this day question how I would have survived my own adolescence without having an outlet in art and music.
Fast forward to today, over 15 years into my career as a therapist I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
More About My Practice
I am a board-certified art therapist, certified EMDR therapist, and approved EMDRIA consultant. I also offer hypnotherapy.
With clients, I typically work from a "parts" perspective in which one explores and normalizes the human experience of holding contradictory feelings or beliefs at different times (or sometimes simultaneously!). For example, you may have a certain personal goal, such as practicing self-compassion or building a better relationship with yourself, but at the same time struggle with self-sabotaging or self-destructive behaviors, or a powerful “inner critic.” By identifying and understanding the different, sometimes contradictory internal and external forces that drive our behavior, we can then gain the opportunity to work with those forces in more harmonious, effective ways.
Ages Served
Adults
Teens (13-17)
Young Adults (18-25)
Teens (13-17)
Young Adults (18-25)
Services Provided
Child and Teen Therapy
Individual Therapy
Individual Therapy
Languages Spoken
English
In Person Availability
Queen Village in South Philadelphia on Tuesdays nights; Mt. Airy, Philadelphia on Saturdays daytime
Specializations
Modalities
Art Therapy
Clinical Hypnosis
EMDR
Expressive Arts Therapy
Flash Technique
Person-Centered Therapy
Supportive-Expressive Therapy
Clinical Hypnosis
EMDR
Expressive Arts Therapy
Flash Technique
Person-Centered Therapy
Supportive-Expressive Therapy
Specialties
Anxiety
Burnout
Depression
LGBTQ+
Life Transitions
Neurodivergent Affirming
Parts Work
Self Esteem
Sex-Positive, Kink Allied
Spirituality
Trauma and PTSD
Women's Issues
Burnout
Depression
LGBTQ+
Life Transitions
Neurodivergent Affirming
Parts Work
Self Esteem
Sex-Positive, Kink Allied
Spirituality
Trauma and PTSD
Women's Issues
Insurance and Payment
Payment Accepted
Cash
Credit
Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
Health Savings Account (HSA)
Out of Network (Superbills Provided)
Sliding Scale
Insurance Accepted
Aetna
BlueCross BlueShield
Highmark
BlueCross BlueShield
Highmark
State Licensed In
Pennsylvania