• Accidents, pain, and illness are sometimes a part of life, and it’s easier to work through in a trusted relationship.

    A focus of mine is working with those affected by illness or a neurological disorder, such as Traumatic brain injury (TBI), Parkinson's disorder, or Stroke. You may be experiencing depression, anxiety, or difficulties in emotional expression. If you are in a relationship, therapy can help to access underlying emotions and rekindle attachment needs.

    I have worked with patients who have had head injuries (such as Traumatic Brain Injury or TBI), Parkinson’s disease and related disorders, PPPD (3PD), Epilepsy, Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), etc..

    Through study and training in ACT and Traditional Chinese Medicine, I am here through flairs or changes in your pain and disease management/ progression. 

    Many patients have difficulty with traditional pain relief, and chronic pain can and will control your life. I am here to support you in managing your chronic pain.

    Hope lies in the space between optimism and reality, and for many patients, it is nearly depleted. Just having hope or the hope of hope one day is an agent of change, and I help people find it.

  • Change is the only constant; change is hard, and I can help.

    Relocation

    Moving, changing jobs, and adjusting to a new life is tough and creates uncertainty, possibly anxiety, depression, and shifts in mood. 

    Career Change

    A change in one’s career can be an adjustment, often bringing a new identity with expectations, doubt, and revealing insecurities.   

    Maternal Mental Health and Illness

    Refers to the psychological and emotional health of new mothers during and after pregnancy, and includes anxiety, depression, and other disorders. 

    • Maternal mental health conditions affect about 1 in 5 women. 

    • 1 in 8 women will experience postpartum depression after childbirth. 

    “When your bare bottom is on the bed delivering the baby, several outcomes are par for the course, and at the same time, we have no idea what the next moment holds. It is the ultimate surrender.” —former patient and Mother 

    Becoming a birthing parent can bring shifts in identity, one’s values, and sense of self.

    Aging

    “It ain’t for sissies,” says a 74 year-old patient [on aging]. 

    Maybe you have just lost your spouse/partner? Perhaps already friends and family members? Or maybe you are beginning to lose your own autonomy? And it’s just difficult to adjust to all of the ways of new generations.

    Health Crises

    Crises are never anticipated, and circumstances bring anxiety, depression, and possibly profound loss. Through specialized training and experience in the field, together, we can explore ways of managing and restoring the quality of life desired and available.

    Eco Therapy

    Walking or in-office therapy to manage stress and maintain control through impacts of climate change.

    Specializing in chronic disease prevention, I also use eco therapy as context to demonstrate the influences of nature to help us feel free from anxiety or judgement.

    Death With Dignity

    As illness takes over or circumstances change, death becomes a reality. Only in recent years, has it become possible to have agency in ending one’s life to reduce suffering.

    The “right to die” movement advocates for the legal right of terminally ill individuals to end their lives, primarily through the use of medical aid in dying. 

    The movement is complex, involving ethical, legal, and social issues.

    Read more about the evolution of the movement:

    https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/the-evolution-of-americas-right-to-die-movement/

    Organizations that support this effort include: 

    Heart2Heart NC

    https://www.heart2heartnc.com/

    Compassion & Choices

    https://compassionandchoices.org/

    Final Exit Network

    https://finalexitnetwork.org/

  • Steven Hayes, creator of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) says, “Love isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.”

    Grief has many different forms and ways of being: grief and loss for the parts of life which are no longer available to us; grief for the loss in our autonomy, and its' traditional sense, after the death of a loved one or friend. Through specialized training in the field, I intend to create a space where people have the permission to feel whatever comes up, and the spaciousness to explore. Because there really is no standard for grieving and attempts to control or minimize, brings suffering.

    Drawing on the work of Francis Weller’s The Wild Edge of Sorrow and Alan Wolfelt, director of Center for Loss and Life Transition, I individualize grief treatment to the background and need of the patient.

    Walking with Grief — A Celtic prayer

    Do not hurry as you walk with grief
    It does not help the journey

    Walk slowly, pausing often

    Do not hurry as you walk with grief
    Be not disturbed by memories
    that come unbidden
    Swiftly forgive and let
    Unspoken words, unfinished conversations
    be resolved in your memories

    Be not disturbed
    Be gentle with the one who walks with grief

    If it is you, be gentle with yourself
    Swiftly forgive, walk slowly,
    Pause often,
    Take time

    Be gentle as you walk with grief

    – Author Unknown

  • DBT and DBT-informed therapy for Dealing with Stress, Anxiety, Depression and Life.