Therapeutic philosophy
General
I believe that the purpose of therapy is to support one’s journey towards greater well being. What we call symptoms are unwanted thought and behavior patterns that we experience as standing in the way of our well being. Symptoms arise from the adaptive and creative ways we learn to deal with large and small life stressors. While they evolve to serve a purpose we may outgrow them or start to understand that there may be other ways to deal with life stressors that are more in aid of well being.
Neurodivergence
While a diagnosis can offer supports such as access to medications and accommodations, formal diagnosis is not a prerequisite for self recognition and self identifying. Understanding oneself and one’s own needs and finding community can go a long way to support well being.
Somatics
In addition to our explicit, or voluntary, memory which consists of information we can draw upon at will and describe in words, our bodies retain implicit memories which consist of emotional, visceral, perceptual, muscle, autonomic, vestibular and procedural memories. Implicit memories are state dependent and surface only when triggered by stimuli. Tuning into the somatic, or bodily, experience is essential to work with and process these types of memories. This is how the unconscious is made conscious.
"Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate"
- Carl Jung
Anxiety, depression, identity exploration, gender identity exploration, late and self diagnosed ADHD, autism, and other forms of neurodivergence, stage of life exploration, trauma, complex trauma, processing of traumatic experiences, chronic pain, and more.
What I work with
In person therapy
Typically weekly or bi-weekly.
Sessions take place at the PHL Therapy Collective in center city Philadelphia.
Telehealth therapy
Typically weekly or bi-weekly.
Sessions take place online with clients located anywhere in Pennsylvania.
Walk and talk therapy
Irregular cadence to be scheduled as desired, can be adjunct therapy or stand alone.
Sessions take place in agreed upon park locations in the Philadelphia area.
Individual Therapy
Group Therapy
Chronic Pain group therapy series on a rolling schedule.
Payment
Private pay on a sliding scale. I do not take insurance at this time.
Let’s Work Together
I am a neurodivergent middle aged person who identifies primarily as female. My special interests include therapy and the natural world.
I have a bachelors of art in printmaking from the University of the Arts which no longer exists.
I have a masters of art in clinical mental health counseling from Antioch University which does.
I have completed two yoga teacher trainings, studied herbalism, trained with the Association Of Nature And Forest Therapy Guides and I have certificates in Somatic Attachment Therapy from the Embody Lab, and in Autistic Centered Therapy from the Chicago School. I have also completed trainings in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), complex trauma, and Brainspotting.
I am a pre-licensed professional counselor in Pennsylvania under the supervision of Brian Swope LMFT at the PHL Therapy Collective in Philadelphia PA and Jodie Hnatkovich LPC, PMH-C, ASDCS at Forward Wellness Counseling in Pittsburgh PA.
About me
photo by: Sophie Frank