As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I've been providing holistic mental health services in the Minnesota Twin Cities area since 2016. Learn more about my background, qualifications, and philosophy here.
MY APPROACH:
I support my clients' healing by helping them to examine how different areas of their life may be affecting their mental health or relationships, including:
Sleep
Nutrition
Movement
Personality (ex. Enneagram Number)
Family/social dynamics
Work
Societal pressures
By taking the time to truly understand the systems in which you live, I can help you create lasting, meaningful changes in your life and relationships.
MY SPECIALTIES:
Couple/Marriage Therapy (Level 1 Gottman Trained)
EMDR (Certified Provider)
Trauma-Informed Care
Anger Management
Anxiety
SERVICES:
Individual mental health therapy
Couples/marriage therapy
COMING SOON! Social Skills Groups (click to learn more / fill out interest form)
WHAT IS EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapy modality used primarily for treating trauma by, essentially, turning traumatic memries into "normal memories" with less intensity of emotion.
Below is a brief introduction to what EMDR is and the link to EMDRia's website that includes further details:
"EMDR is a structured therapy that encourages the patient to focus briefly on the trauma memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation (typically eye movements), which is associated with a reduction in the vividness and emotion associated with the trauma memories. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an extensively researched, effective psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from trauma and PTSD symptoms. Ongoing research supports positive clinical outcomes, showing EMDR therapy as a helpful treatment for disorders such as anxiety, depression, OCD, chronic pain, addictions, and other distressing life experiences (Maxfield, 2019). EMDR therapy has even been superior to Prozac in trauma treatment (Van der Kolk et al., 2007). Shapiro and Forrest (2016) share that EMDR therapists in 130 countries have successfully treated millions."
https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/
WHO IS A GOOD CANDIDATE FOR EMDR?
EMDR can be used to treat:
Severe and acute trauma, including PTSD and CPTSD
Nightmares
Anxiety
Addiction
Pain
MY APPROACH TO EMDR
EMDR works differently than traditional therapy. Our time is spent allowing you to process in your own brain instead of talking things through. It happens quickly and can be hard to follow, but it is very impactful. To facilitate a comfortable environment, I spend the first 2-3 sessions getting to know you and your goals with EMDR therapy, practicing coping skills, and co-creating your treatment plan.
If after reading anything you still have questions, don't hesitate to reach out!
Link to Therapy page
Using the Gottman theory and the Enneagram, my initial steps in couple therapy are to:
Meet you and get to know your history as a couple
Establish a base of knowledge for us to operate from
Teach/reinforce coping skills to help make communication easier
Work as a translator for you and your partner until you can learn to communicate with each other's style of communication
Communication skills are important, but being friends and genuinely liking and trusting each other are the foundational aspects of a healthy relationship.
FYI - Couple therapy is private pay only at $175 per session. This is to ensure tailored, uninterrupted care without insurance-mandated diagnoses or session limits.
Sign up!
Practicing social skills in real life can be difficult. Interactions with friends or new people can feel too risky, especially if you're worried about how you might be perceived or have had negative experiences in the past. Dungeons and Dragons (and other TTRPGs) offer a safe space to learn the skills to successfully relate to others. In The Voyagers Guild, we will build confidence in:
Regulation
Collaboration
Planning
Perspective
Pretend Play
The Voyagers Guild is a safe space. Role-playing games give you a chance to experience the cause and effect of your actions on an imaginary world, risk-free.
Link to groups page