Services
About My Clients
I do individual therapy with youth (13+) and adults, focused on self-compassion and social justice. I work with primarily LGBTQIA2S+ people around reclaiming self-trust when past experiences of trauma and oppression have made that difficult. I also supervise associate clinicians who are concurrently working in community mental health, just launching in private practice, or who are LGBTQIA2S+ or BIPOC.
My Background and Approach
I do not view the goal of therapy to be to stop feeling anxiety, sadness, or pain, but rather to restore those and other emotions to their rightful places as our advisors, teachers, or even friends. When we can do that, they tend to recede on their own and occupy less prominent places in our lives. It’s okay if you’re not so sure about this yet – most people aren’t. I mostly utilize modalities that emphasize self-compassionate ways to connect with the wounded, scared, and hurting parts of ourselves (Internal Family Systems and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy). Often this takes a fair bit of building trust between client and therapist, and that’s okay – we only move as fast as the slowest parts of you want to go.
My Personal Beliefs and Interests
I grew up in Seattle’s suburbs, a gay kid in an environment and time where queer people and identities were mostly ignored or avoided: I learned the best way to make it through was to stay hidden. I have since learned that “stay hidden” is not just a narrative affecting queer people, but something that affects all of us living inside oppressive systems, surviving trauma, and desiring to live freely and safely as our authentic selves. As a therapist, I work with clients to explore these and other survival narratives, and re-connect with sources of resiliency: the self, the community, and the world around us. As a white, queer person, I am also firmly committed to my own learning, growth, and action toward undoing institutionalized oppression, including racism, classism, ableism, sexism and transphobia.