Therapy

 People come into therapy because somehow their life is not working the way they would like it to work. The primary focus of my work is in the areas of grief and substance abuse, along with common related issues such as trauma, anxiety, relationship difficulties, and challenges around self-esteem and worthiness. My approach is eclectic but deeply rooted in humanism and very relational. Modalities I have been trained in that I utilize most commonly are IFS Parts work, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectival Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and mindfulness practices. One of the most important tenets I come from is that everyone and every situation is different and to meet each person where they are. 

My absolute ideal client is someone who is in the intersection of grief and substance use. They may have experienced a loss of a loved one from overdose or a substance-related accident or event. More commonly, they are beginning to look at how grief and loss have impacted their substance use, whether they are still grappling with their addiction or have been in recovery for decades. Two things brought me to this work. The first is my own experience of my alcoholism having been impacted by unattended sorrows, having been raised in a family with little space for any emotion and even less for grief specifically. The second is having worked in a detox and a rehab unit with people around this issue and seeing how rarely it is addressed, even acknowledged as an issue, by most counselors. 

I get the tendency to use anything to go around our feelings - alcohol, drugs, sex, shopping, Internet, TV - but the problem is it doesn’t work. In my work with people I support them in gently and compassionately facing the things they don’t want to face, whether grief, addiction, anxiety, trauma or a more general sense of not being the person you want to be. We work together to identify patterns and beliefs that are not supporting you, then explore new possibilities. My approach is holistic, incorporating body/mind/spirit. I draw upon deep listening, skillful inquiry, reflection, and psycho-education as called for. 

I include all this here because I believe it is important. It is important for you to have a sense of who the person is that you are talking to. After all, if therapy is to work, you are going to get pretty vulnerable. You are going to talk about what hurts, what makes you mad, where you feel inadequate, how your relationships feel to you, what your biggest heartbreaks have been - things like that. To do that, you need to have a sense of trust in and connection to the other person involved. 

This is not to say your therapy is about me. It’s not. When a person decides to work with me, the first thing I want to know is what are your goals; why are you seeking therapy at this time? That’s what we stay focused on, in the meandering way that the soul wants to do that. I invite you not to get intimidated or fearful of that word “meandering.” It doesn’t mean you’re going to be in therapy for the rest of your life - or even one minute longer than you choose based on how it is serving you. What it does mean is that we (you and I together) acknowledge that life and relationships are not as linear as we would sometimes like them to be. We accept that and work from there.

I am licensed as an LCSWA / LCASA in North Carolina. As such, I can offer clinical therapeutic services to anyone in the state virtually, as well as to clients in the Chapel Hill/Durham area in person if they prefer.  I am on many BCBS plans and soon anticipate adding Aetna and Medicare as well. I also work with many clients on either a self-pay or OON arrangement where I provide superbills.