I believe that our minds and bodies are much more connected than most of us in the Western Hemisphere are brought up to believe.

When I use the description of ‘holistic therapy’, I mean incorporating techniques such as talk therapy, EMDR, yoga, movement (or exercise), and nutrition in order to address all of your mental health needs. I like to try to address the root cause of your symptoms instead of just putting a band-aid over them. Can’t sleep? Panic attacks? Negative self-talk? Let’s figure out the why’s behind it and then healthy and natural ways to address it!

Trauma is a broad term used to describe many different types of events. I use the word ‘trauma’ to describe a negative event(s) that has had a lasting impact on someone’s mental and/or physical health.

Some forms of trauma are more obvious (childhood sexual abuse) while others are not as publicly acknowledged as being traumatic (not receiving emotional care or validation from parents as a child). Please don’t compare your own experiences to other’s in order to invalidate how you feel. Just because someone else’s trauma seems “worse” than yours, does not make your own experiences any less difficult for you or any less worthy of healing from.

Therapy will be a different experience for everyone. Typically, I will start a first session by getting to know more about who you are, why you want to come in, a brief history of your life events, mental and physical health symptoms, and identifying some of the strengths and coping tools you already have.

From there, we will work together to decide more specifically what you want to work on, how frequently you want to meet, and what methods will be most helpful for you (whether EMDR, CBT, KAP, etc.). It is okay if you don’t know these specifics ahead of time, we will figure it out together! We'll then starting taking steps toward your goals, at your pace. Outside of our hour sessions, you can start transitioning some of the tools and strategies we practice in session into your daily life. I usually recommend sessions start at once a week or every two weeks.

Yoga is more than just the physical movements (or asanas) it is most popularly known for in the U.S. Other components to yoga include breath (pranayama), meditation (dhyana), and an entire way of living life.

If you are comfortable and curious to try incorporating these into therapy, I will help guide you through breathing exercises, meditations, and gentle movements. These techniques can not only help calm the nervous system and therefore reduce symptoms such as anxiety or panic attacks, but can do a lot in helping people move through traumatic experiences. Books like The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk have helped to introduce to the Western world how our trauma can be stored in our bodies, only to show up again and again throughout our lives. Yoga can help this trauma flow through and out of our bodies.

There is no ONE therapist in the whole wide world who would be a good fit for every single person out there. Every therapist offers different styles, approaches, and personalities. Finding a therapist who you trust and feel comfortable with is going to be one of the best ways to predict good outcomes from therapy.

My style of therapy is probably best described as more calm, collaborative, and nurturing. If you are looking for more of a “tough love” type of therapist, I’m probably not the right one for you. If you want a therapist who will tell you exactly what to do, also not quite my style (though I will definitely offer you ideas and suggestions). If you or I decide we aren’t a good fit, I am happy to refer you or help you look for someone who is. No hard feelings!

There is no such thing as a stupid question :)