areas of interest
SPECIALTIES
Grief & Loss
Grief belongs to more than death. We may grieve the end of a relationship, changes in our health or abilities, identities and roles we can no longer inhabit, futures we imagined but did not get to have, or the death of someone we love. We may also grieve what we needed but never received, parts of ourselves we set aside in order to belong, the state of the world and climate crisis, or losses connected to our families, ancestors, communities, and the natural world.
Some losses are recognized and supported; others are minimized or not acknowledged as grief at all. Pet loss can be one of these. The bond we share with an animal can be deeply significant, and the grief that follows their death deserves care and recognition.
There is no right way or timeline for grieving. Grief can bring sadness, anger, relief, guilt, numbness, longing, joy, or many of these at once. We don't simply get over what matters to us; we learn to live with loss and carry it as part of our lives.
In therapy, we slow down and make room for what is here. We may explore how grief lives in your body, emotions, relationships, and different parts of you, as well as the cultural and familial messages you've learned about how grief should look. I offer psychoeducation to help you make sense of what you're experiencing and understand the many natural responses to loss. I also weave poetry, art, music, and ritual into our work to support the processing and expression of grief.
Together, we can find ways of being with grief that honor the fullness of your experience—tending what has been lost and making room for grief alongside connection, meaning, and aliveness.
Relationships & Connection
Relationships can be a source of belonging, intimacy, and support, while also bringing us into contact with some of our most tender places. You may love one another deeply and still find yourselves feeling distant, misunderstood, or caught in conflicts that seem to repeat. Perhaps communication has become difficult, trust has been hurt, intimacy has changed, or you simply miss the sense of closeness you once shared.
Couples may come to therapy wanting to reconnect, strengthen communication, repair after hurt, navigate a transition, or better understand what keeps getting in the way of feeling close. Sometimes the relationship is in crisis; other times, nothing is necessarily “wrong,” but you want to understand one another more deeply and tend to the relationship before disconnection grows.
Relationship work can also happen individually. You may notice patterns across romantic relationships, friendships, or family relationships that leave you feeling disconnected from yourself or others. Maybe you struggle to express what you need, set boundaries, trust, tolerate conflict, or allow yourself to depend on someone. You may find yourself taking responsibility for other people’s feelings or changing yourself in order to maintain connection.
Together, we can explore what you learned about love, conflict, trust, boundaries, and belonging through your early relationships, family, and culture. We can become curious about the roles and protective patterns you developed and whether they still fit the relationships you want today.
Whether you come to therapy with a partner or on your own, the work is about creating more awareness and choice in how you relate. There can be room for closeness and autonomy, vulnerability and boundaries, connection to others and connection to yourself.
Life Transitions
Life is always changing, whether we want it to or not. Sometimes we welcome what is unfolding; other times we resist it, grieve what is changing, or wish we could return to how things were. A career change, relationship beginning or ending, becoming a parent, perimenopause, empty nesting, caregiving, retirement, changes in health or ability, or an unexpected injury can shift how we understand ourselves and our place in the world.
Transitions can bring anxiety because they ask us to step into the unknown. We may have already crossed a threshold—whether we chose to or not—where the familiar is behind us, but what comes next has not yet taken shape. Different parts of us may respond in different ways: one may be ready to move forward while another wants to hold on; one may feel relieved or excited while another feels afraid, angry, or deeply sad.
Transitions can also raise questions of identity: Who am I now? Who am I becoming? Sometimes we can't return to who we were before. Therapy can offer space to mourn what has changed or been lost while exploring a sense of identity that makes room for who you have been, what you have lived through, and who you are becoming.
Our work involves slowing down and paying attention to what this transition is bringing up—emotionally, relationally, and in your body. We can get curious about what different parts of you need, make space for grief and uncertainty, and explore messages from family, culture, or society about how this stage of life is supposed to look. Rather than deciding how you should move forward, we’ll listen for what feels true and meaningful to you now.
The goal isn't to rush toward acceptance or force yourself to embrace a change you didn't ask for. Together, we can tend to what is ending, listen to what you need now, and create space for a sense of self that can hold more of you as you find your way forward.
Anxiety & Depression
Anxiety and depression can show up in many ways. You may feel constantly on edge, overwhelmed by worry, caught in overthinking, or unable to quiet your mind. Or you may feel heavy, disconnected, exhausted, numb, or like you've lost touch with the things that once brought meaning or pleasure. Sometimes anxiety and depression show up together, leaving you both overwhelmed and shut down.
Rather than seeing anxiety or depression as something wrong with you, I’m interested in understanding what these experiences may be communicating and the context in which they developed. We may explore the parts of you working hard to protect you, the ways your nervous system has learned to respond to stress, and the relationships and experiences that have shaped how you see yourself and the world.
We’ll also look beyond the individual. Family dynamics, relationships, work, culture, identity, social expectations, and the larger systems we live within can all contribute to distress. Therapy can be a place to ask not only “Why do I feel this way?” but also “What has happened around me—and what am I responding to?”
Our work involves slowing down and becoming curious about what happens in your thoughts, emotions, and body. We may notice familiar patterns, get to know the different parts of you with more compassion, and explore what helps your nervous system feel more grounded. Rather than fighting your internal experience, we’ll work toward understanding it while building greater flexibility in how you respond.
The goal isn't to never feel anxious, sad, or overwhelmed. Together, we can work toward feeling more connected to yourself, having more choice in how you respond to difficult moments, and creating a life with greater room for connection, meaning, and aliveness.