Art Therapy
I’m a registered art therapist (ATR), and offer art therapy to those seeking to tap into the healing benefits of art making. It's used to foster self-esteem, promote self-reflection and awareness, facilitate insight, enhance social skills, reduce and resolve conflicts and distress, and improve cognitive and sensorimotor functions. No art experience is necessary for it to be effective.
Depression and Anxiety
Depression, fear, and anxiety are some of the most common and uncomfortable emotions that we can experience at some point in our lives. Through EMDR therapy, I help you discover where your symptoms come from and heal the wounds from your past so that you don't have to work to manage, cope, or contain anymore. You can be free to live in the present with the wisdom and resilience that comes from healing.
Trauma & Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Many individuals can experience symptoms associated with painful and traumatic circumstances. Anxiety, fear, and hopelessness are a few emotions that can linger post-traumatic events. I can help you overcome these symptoms and guide you through the process of grief and healing.
Adoption Trauma
Even if you were nurtured by a caring adoptive family, the separation from your biological and cultural roots can result in enduring attachment trauma. Grown adoptees frequently describe a moment of realization, often referred to as "emerging from the FOG" (fear, obligation, guilt), when they can no longer ignore the profound influence adoption has had on their existence. As an adult adoptee, you might experience:
- Anger towards your adoptive and/or birthparents
- A compulsion to re-enact your attachment trauma in relationships, despite attempts not to
- Difficulty relying on others or being overly reliant on others
- Gaslighting by the dominant “happy story” narrative around adoption
- Out of control with sex, money, food, substances, and other unhealthy substitutes for genuine connection
- A chronic identity crisis
- A dysregulated nervous system
If you’ve spent years in therapy without feeling better, that may have been because you weren’t seeing a therapist who was adoption-informed.
Attachment Trauma
Attachment trauma may have affected you if your primary caregiver couldn't consistently provide the emotional and physical support you needed during your formative years. This lack of emotional connection may have made it challenging for you to comfort yourself as a child, leading to the development of unhealthy coping mechanisms to manage your emotions and self-worth. People who have experienced attachment wounds often encounter difficulties in various aspects of their lives:
- Chaotic romantic relationships
- A lack of intrinsic self-value
- Difficulty setting and keeping boundaries
- A nervous system that’s either too wound up or too checked out
If your relationship with yourself feels unmanageable, it’s hard to have a stable relationship with anyone else.
EMDR Therapy
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an interactive psychotherapy technique used to relieve psychological stress. It's an effective treatment option for people suffering from depression, anxiety, panic, PTSD, or trauma. It's a way to get past your past and build a more resilient future.
Introduction to EMDR Video
More detailed information on EMDR can be obtained at www.emdria.org. The video is actual EMDR clients discussing their experiences.