Individual Therapy

Symptoms

I do not view the goal of therapy to be to stop feeling anxiety, sadness, or pain, but rather to restore those and other emotions to their rightful places as our advisors, teachers, or even friends. When we can do that, they tend to recede on their own and occupy less prominent places in our lives. It’s okay if you’re not so sure about this yet – most people aren’t.

Methods

I mostly utilize modalities that emphasize self-compassionate ways to connect with the wounded, scared, and hurting parts of ourselves (Internal Family Systems and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy). Often this takes a fair bit of building trust between client and therapist, and that’s okay – we only move as fast as the slowest parts of you want to go.

Length

I often work with people on a relatively long-term basis, because resisting and healing from oppressive systems is a long-term project for all of us. We will collaborate together on a type and length of treatment that honors your needs.

Community

Individual healing is supported by and in turn supports larger, communal healing. I will ask about your relationships with other people, your communities, and the world. I view these connections as fundamental to therapy, whether or not they are the primary focus of our work together.

Identities

Identities are complicated, as are the ways we get to exist in the world because of them! I’ll do what I can to make therapy a great place to practice creating some of the changes we want to see, starting with the therapeutic relationship.

But how? I utilize anti-racist, feminist, and queer liberatory frameworks in therapy, and strive to co-create an environment with you where your experiences of race, class, gender, sexuality, and ability can be fully present, explored, and supported.  I hope to support your own sense of how you want to connect with me and others in ways that feel healthy for you. This can look like a lot of different things based on both of our identities, experiences, and values.

As a white person, for instance, I am committed to growing my own capacity for addressing internalized white supremacy. With BIPOC clients, I will be especially attentive to any boundaries you may want to have with me as a white person, so you don’t have to take care of me in that way. With other white folks, I will be especially attentive with unspoken boundaries (what we find ourselves not talking about) – so that we can better understand the ways we may distance ourselves from one another as white people, as well as from BIPOC people. Then we can begin to practice curiosity, compassion, and intentional reconnection in these areas.

I strive for my practice to be sex positive, polyam/enm friendly, kink/bdsm friendly, and weight neutral.