FAQs

What is therapy?

Therapy is an opportunity for you to grow and heal. Therapy involves talking one on one in the privacy of an office- sometimes with the tools of toys, music and art. 

People usually decide to talk to a therapist when a problem in their life is causing a lot of pain and when the issue they are trying to cope with becomes too big for them to handle on their own. 

Although people usually enter therapy during a crisis, people can enter to discover more about themselves, process traumas of the past, get assistance with making major life transitions, or vent about the day-to-day issues they are facing.

How can I or my family benefit from therapy?

Therapy can help you and your family through an immediate crisis- grief and loss issues, family conflict, child behavior problems, couple communication issues. Therapy can help you harness your best self to stabilize the situation, as well as learn new problem-solving skills, communication skills and self-care skills to decrease the intensity of future moments of crisis.

What special expertise do you have?

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with almost 20 years of experience in the field. I have worked in numerous levels of care- outpatient, residential, in-home and schools here in Mercer County. I have special certification in Trauma work. I have extensive experience as a therapist and advocate for LGBTQ+ folks, particularly Trans and Gender Non Conforming youth. My other areas of expertise are Autism Spectrum Disorders, working with concurrent chronic medical conditions, working on grief and loss issues, and perinatal and postpartum issues.

How do I know if you are the right fit for me and my family?

Finding a therapist you ‘vibe’ with is a key to making therapy work. I may be the perfect therapist for you or I may not be. It’s important that you read up on multiple therapists you may be considering for yourself or your child, be clear about what you are looking for, and have a brief phone consultation with each. Trust your instincts and those of your child- being able to trust, identify with and genuinely like your therapist is an important part of the process.  It’s okay to have an initial session and decide someone is not the right fit for you at that point too. Therapy is most successful when you are active in the process all the way along!

You may get a recommendation from a friend, school personnel or doctor, or by searching on websites such as Psychology Today.

How do I know when therapy is complete?

At the start of therapy, we make goals together about what you want to work on. Once these goals are complete, therapy can be done. Many people, however, choose to focus on new goals or keep the therapeutic relationship for continued personal growth even if a crisis has passed.

Sometimes, you may have met your goals and decide to stop therapy, then come back at a later point in life if there is a new crisis or moment of transition.

Will you collaborate with others involved in my care?

I am happy to collaborate with others! This can mean partners, parents and children for family therapy. Some individuals would like me to collaborate with their individual doctor or psychiatrist, with their school guidance counselor or teacher, or other professionals involved in their care.