Thanks for taking the time to see if Authentic-Transitions could be a good fit for you. It is hard to believe that this is my 20th year working in the counseling field. I have worked with teenagers, college students, young professionals, more seasoned folks and couples in a variety of settings. I love the work I do because I get a front row seat to see growth and change in my clients. Challenges in life and transitions are inevitable, however these trying times can be the catalyst for growth, change, and even new direction if we can simply harness them for our growth and good.
The approach that most resonates with me is the Solution-Focused Brief Therapy model. This approach focuses on solution building rather than problem talk. It looks to what resources you have now and builds on these to move towards your future hopes rather than focusing more on past problems. I was trained in Cognitive Behavior Therapy, and utilize this approach as desired by clients. The basic premise of this approach is that the way we interpret events in our lives directly impacts how we feel and what we do. Meaning that the same event can happen to two different people. One is spurred on towards greatness by how they interpret what this means for them, while the other is paralyzed by their interpretation. By catching and shifting this negative thinking we can move towards more positive thinking and positive change.
I have also done extensive training in EMDR. I have been excited to incorporate this approach to serve clients who are interested. EMDR is an 8 Phase integrative treatment therapy that helps people heal from traumatic events and life disturbing experiences. As research continues to grow in the efficacy of EMDR therapy, this psychotherapeutic modality has shown to be helpful with clients experiencing anxiety, depression, chronic pain, addictions, and much more. EMDR therapy is designed to help people identify events that feel stuck and cause distress in their current lives. These events can become unprocessed memories with disturbing images, thoughts, emotions, and body sensations. EMDR therapy helps activate the brain’s inherent system to process and integrate the stored or stuck information. It will not erase the memory; instead, a person will remember the story without all the distressing emotional charge before the treatment.
My faith has played a huge role in my life. I grew up in a Christian home, that unfortunately like so many others, did not protect me from tragedy that would play a hand. My belief in the strength and love that Jesus offers, along with the support of others, carried me through some very dark times. I’ve worked in different areas of ministry including serving on a church staff, on a college campus and serving for a year on the mission field in Bulgaria. If interested, I’m more than glad to navigate the counseling experience from a faith-based perspective. This is part of who I am, however it is always your choice of whether you want faith to play a role in counseling or not.
What to Expect
Having a background in athletics, as a player and coach, I am very goal oriented. This contributes to the way that I approach counseling. In our first session we will go over paperwork, discuss confidentiality, and begin to hear your story. The focus of the second session will be to continue to hear your story and discover potential areas of strength and improvement. We will then look at the goals you would like to accomplish – where you would like to be when counseling is completed. The sessions after this will be time to report on and work further towards meeting those goals.