Anxiety, stress, or medical issues do not have to stop you from living a fulfilling, joyful life.
Anxiety, stress, or medical issues do not have to stop you from living a fulfilling, joyful life.
My Approach
I am committed to using evidence-based therapies and have found that an integrative combination of cognitive behavioral and mindfulness-based therapies allow me to best serve my clients. My style is down-to-earth, warm, and collaborative, and I tend to use compassionate humor in my work.
Counseling Techniques
◦ Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
-Including CBT for anxiety, insomnia, pain, or depression
-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)
◦ Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
◦ Mindfulness Based Cancer Recovery (MBCR)
◦ Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
◦ Mindfulness or relaxation training
Anxiety and Stress
Anxiety and stress can leave you feeling stuck, and like your mind and body are working against you. You may feel a sense of overwhelm or lack of control, especially during moments when you’re under the most pressure to perform or to project calm. Such feelings are common (and normal!), but most of us white-knuckle our way through and can suffer for years before seeking support. You can better regulate stress and live a full and fulfilling life in stressful and anxiety-producing times—I can share approaches and tools that have been shown to help.
Chronic medical conditions
I have extensive expertise working with people facing chronic and/or serious medical conditions, including cancer, insomnia, diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease, gastrointestinal conditions, and long COVID, to name a few.
You or your loved one may be still seeking a diagnosis, newly diagnosed, figuring out or living with treatments, managing on-going symptoms (like pain or fatigue), or any combination of these. I understand that living with or after a medical concern is personal, dynamic, and on-going. I am here to support you every step of the way.
-
◦ Promoting emotional, physical, and/or spiritual wellness in the context of living with a medical condition
◦ Supporting you in living a healthy life, such as making desired changes in eating, physical activity, or work/life balance
◦ Responding to other peoples’ reactions to your medical situation, including your communication with loved ones, acquaintances, and/or coworkers
◦ Behavioral (non-medication) management of symptoms or side-effects
◦ Stress management and balancing self-care with caring for others
◦ Exploring how to move forward in a way that is aligned with what feels most valuable and important to you
◦ Navigating the medical system and community resources, including identifying others who can help
◦ Building a space to explore any concerns about death, dying, or end-of-life
Insomnia
Are you having difficulty getting to sleep or trouble staying asleep? Are you waking up too early in the morning and unable to fall back asleep? Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, or CBT-I, is an effective, structured, non-medication treatment. It is considered a first line treatment for this common sleep disorder. CBT-I entails looking closely at your thoughts about sleep and your sleep behaviors to promote better sleep.
Treatment begins with a comprehensive assessment to determine the best path to improve your sleep. This initial sleep assessment takes about two sessions. Among other things, I will ask you to keep a detailed sleep diary for two weeks following our first session. This assessment enables me to make recommendations specific to you and your experience of insomnia.
Many people with insomnia symptoms will benefit from CBT-I. If continuing with CBT-I makes sense for you, we will move forward with scheduling treatment appointments. CBT-I typically lasts about 4-8 sessions. I may also suggest other treatments either in addition to or instead of CBT-I. My goal is to help you get the best care possible to help improve your sleep!
Cancer
You may be newly diagnosed with cancer, currently going through initial or maintenance treatments, recovering from treatments, working to move forward after cancer diagnosis and treatment, living with cancer as a chronic or recurrent condition, diagnosed with metastatic cancer, or any combination of these. Working as a cancer therapist is close to my heart and an area in which I have deep expertise after many years serving patients and caregivers and conducting psycho-oncology research at various cancer centers. I can never fully understand what it’s like to be in your shoes, but I have likely walked alongside others who have traveled similar paths.
-
◦ Promoting emotional, physical, and/or spiritual wellness in the context of living with and beyond cancer
◦ Supporting you in living a healthy life, such as making desired changes in eating, physical activity, or work/life balance
◦ Responding to other peoples’ reactions to your medical situation, including your communication with loved ones, acquaintances, and/or coworkers
◦ Behavioral (non-medication) management of symptoms or side-effects
◦ Stress management and balancing self-care with caring for others
◦ Exploring how to move forward in a way that is aligned with what feels most valuable and important to you
◦ Navigating the medical system and community resources, including identifying others who can help
◦ Building a space to explore any concerns about death, dying, or end-of-life
Caregiver Support
While so much care is focused on one person, a medical concern also greatly impacts those who love and care for them. While these challenging times can bring depth and closeness to your relationship, you may also be struggling to adjust to new roles and caregiving demands. Alongside your work to support your loved one, you may also feel the sadness, frustration, grief, or other difficult experiences that are so often a part of caregiving. I am here to care for you, and to explore how you can care for yourself while also supporting your loved one.
