Therapists in Fairfax, VA

I am currently a Supervisee of Social Work with over 21 years of experience working with adults, children and couples. I have a vast knowledge of mental health as it relates to individuals, disadvantaged populations, groups and couples. My specialty also surrounds social work, child protective services, Foster care juvenile justice systems and special education. My Job is My Passion, My Ministry. I too have experienced difficult life situations, trauma and grief. I didn’t start my life with all of these titles. I had to work hard for each one of them. Through every challenge, every struggle, every stumbling block, and every failure.

I work with adults struggling to navigate anxiety, depression, chronic illness, and times of significant life stress and transition, looking to discover their identities and a sense of meaning and purpose. I also provide strengths-based neuropsychological evaluations to enable my clients to develop an in-depth understanding of how their thinking abilities, emotions, and behaviors impact daily functioning, and to promote healthy insight, growth, and positive outcomes.

During difficult times, the word “unravel” resonates with most of us. As human beings, at some point, we are bound to experience life stressors, trauma events, relationship difficulties, grief and loss, parenting struggles etc. I am aware there is no single therapeutic approach, and a range of flexibility and modalities is key to guide and assist in finding resolution and balance. My great passion is bringing healing to the people who have been through traumatic/stressful experiences and struggling to anchor, reflect and or reset. I believe in meeting clients where they are and in creating a collaborative therapeutic relationship.

As a therapist, I try to provide my client with a calm, nurturing and safe environment. My approach is person-centered and I try to work in collaboration with my client to help them overcome the barriers of life so that they can reach their goals. Often it feels painful and difficult to challenge cognitive distortions, yet I try to assist in a kind fashion to work toward independence and growth.

No matter how strong we are in meeting the challenges of life sometimes what happens to us heaps upon us a mountain of stress and we can do little but feel the pain of all that weight. Our goal is to help those we serve be effective in resolving personal pain through the empowerment of their natural strengths. Step by measured step, we work to build durability, and self-respect through skill building to overcome the pains that make life less enjoyable. We want to help you to move that mountain of pain one stone a time- by skillful means.

Not Accepting New Patients. Please reach out and see if there is another good fit at the practice. HMT has many wonderful clinicians! I am comfortable working with many different populations with varying levels of issues. Depression, anxiety, trauma, substance use, and military specific stressors are a small cross-section of the issues I treat. I am a sex-positive, kink informed and trauma informed clinician. I am a laid-back person with a robust, and admittedly sometimes immature, sense of humor who is a big believer in radical acceptance. You can expect these things, and many more during our sessions.

Do you feel chronically disconnected or stuck in unhelpful patterns despite "knowing better"? This misalignment might be affecting your physical health, your relationships, your sense of self, and your visions for the future. While many of the strategies you relied upon in early life were both necessary and adaptive, they can also become what hold you back later in life. What if we explore some of your origin stories and update those defaults to better reflect who you are, instead of who you believed you had to be? What if we deepen your self-belonging, thereby strengthening your capacity to connect more effortlessly with others?