Counseling Focus Areas

Trauma is an experience that anyone can have, and everyone’s experience is different. Have you heard of fight, flight, freeze and fawn? Trauma responses are our body’s natural form of protection. Trauma can be caused by critical incidents, bullying, violence, abuse, the grating effects of living and working in harmful systems, and more. We may be left feeling anxious and afraid, numb or depressed, sad, angry, exhausted, etc. Recovery is possible, and counseling can be a powerful way to move toward healing. 

There are so many kinds of change that we can experience, including but not limited to big life transitions. Transitions can be exciting, and can also involve difficulty. Grief and loss may be experienced with some transitions, such as the death of a loved one, moving or losing a home, starting or ending an important relationship, career changes, illness, and more. Adjustment is non-linear process, and having support can make a huge difference.

I support people in exploring who they are. This includes social and cultural identities. I specialize in LGBTQIA2S+ affirming counseling and neurodivergent affirming counseling. Neurodivergent identities I can support include (but are not limited to), ADHDers, autistic folks, synthesthetes, and people with sensory processing differences including highly sensitive people. I keep in mind my own social locations and the way these can affect the counseling relationship.

Showing up day to day in the workplace can be fulfilling, and it can also present a number of struggles. From corporate jobs to academia to nonprofits and more, many people have experiences in professional environments that cause burnout. At worst, workplace trauma such as bullying or mobbing can occur. I provide support for those struggling within a professional system, considering leaving, or for those who need to heal after leaving. 

Any number of things can cause existential or spiritual concerns or crises. You may have reached a point where previous existential or spiritual understandings no longer make sense and you want to discuss this with a counselor. You may be having transpersonal, mystical, or outside-of-the-ordinary experiences that you want to talk about. Or perhaps you would like support as you explore something new. 

You may be having a variety of feelings coming up as you read distressing news headlines. You may have directly experienced a climate disaster or environmental loss. Perhaps you are struggling as an activist. Processing feelings about local, national, and global crises and building resilience is essential for personal wellbeing, collective liberation, and the healing of our planet. Support to cope can feel like a relief.