Making Space to Live Fully
Living as an outsider to the dominant culture can be liberating—but it’s not without its costs.
It’s the microaggressions. The sense of sticking out, or the fear of disclosure. It’s the stress of watching politicians attempt to legislate you out of existence. It’s the loneliness of being a dissenting voice.
I work one-on-one with clients who need a shelter from the storm, who lead alternative lifestyles or have marginalized identities—even if that’s not the focus of our work. That means the LGBTQIA+ community, polyamorous and kinky folks, and those who are curious to explore those facets of their sexual or gender identity. It also means people of color or cultural minorities. It’s activists and artists, roller derby skaters and roleplayers, anarchists and anticapitalists.
If your top criteria for a therapist is someone who “gets you” in all your vibrancy, we might be a good fit. You and I can’t change society in therapy, but we can work together to make a safe space where you can experience authenticity and find strength to tackle whatever you’re working on.
Working with Yourself: ADHD and Perfectionism
“Ugh, why is my brain like this?”
Does that thought crop up more than you’d like? Maybe you’re constantly forgetting the little things, showing up late, or getting sucked down rabbit holes. Ugh, brain! Or maybe you can’t seem to let yourself settle for anything less than 110%, even when it’s 4 in the morning and you’ve been tweaking slide transitions on a presentation for an hour. Whyyyyyy? Maybe you even have the unholy combination of both.
I’m a certified ADHD Clinical Services Provider, with training and experience on building strategies for neurospicy brains. I help clients find habits and routines that can provide the right amount of both order and flexibility. And through my own deeply compassionate approach to therapy, as well as specific practices for building your own form of self-compassion, I help clients reconfigure their relationships to shame and inadequacy—feelings that both attention issues and perfectionism often share.
Reconnecting to the Real World
We live in an age of transformative digital technology, and yet, many people are looking to cultivate pockets of their life that are slower, more analog, and rooted in personal relationships. In both individual and group therapy, I provide support for clients who want to strengthen their connections to the offline world.
Through mindfulness, habit-building, and a careful, personalized approach, I help clients who want to rewrite their problematic relationships to their smartphones and social media. And for clients who want to find more personal connections in their communities, but struggle with anxiety, I provide a comfortable, gentle therapy space from which we can build confidence and social skills.
Specialties
(in case bulleted lists are more your jam)
- Generalized anxiety
- Social anxiety
- Depression
- Self-criticism or self-hatred
- Perfectionism
- Executive dysfunction
- ADHD
- Burnout
- LGBTQIA+ community
- Polyamory and nonmonogamy
- Kink and BDSM
- Sex-positivity
- Social justice issues
- Smartphone technology and social media
The Nitty-Gritty
- Age range served: 16+
- Modalities:
- The vast majority of my work is individual therapy.
- I offer occasional therapy groups.
- If you are seeking relationship therapy specifically for matters related to nonmonogamous/polyamorous relationships, I may be available. Please reach out.
- Payment methods accepted:
- Private pay (cash, check, credit card), Moda Health, PacificSource Commercial
- At your request, I can provide you with a “superbill” to give to your insurer for out-of-network bill reimbursement.
- Location: Downtown in Salem, Oregon, or anywhere in Oregon via video telehealth
Sound like what you’re looking for?