I am a Board Certified Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor with training supervision designation (LPCC-S) and certifications in Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH) and Clinical Mental Health Counseling. I am dedicated to helping people with a combination of my experience in private practice since 2008, ongoing continuing education and training, and everything I have learned from the many people I have served over the years.
I completed my education at John Carroll University in 2008. I had always been passionate about working with people who have gone through great suffering whether that suffering arose out of childhood abuse, difficult family backgrounds, domestic violence and divorce, clergy abuse, spiritual suffering, singular traumatic events, military sexual trauma, other traumatic military stress and injury, the death of a loved one, the loss of a faithful pet, childhood bullying, and truly any personal loss or interpersonal injury, or work injury. I began my education with a focus of learning about how to help with stress and trauma, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. It has been my privilege to work with so many people ready to open their hearts and share their story and many ways they have gotten through so much. People possess a tremendous degree of resiliency skills that are very specific to them and their situations. Knowing this, I respect and believe in each person’s internal wisdom of their unique healing process. Because of this, I provide a safe and therapeutic space where you can explore your own thoughts and feelings as I support integration of all aspects of yourself. All relevant thoughts and feelings may be explored, understood, felt, shared, and examined on your path to growth and becoming the person you want to be.
In my training and experience, I found that many people in their pain and suffering turn to drugs and alcohol, prescription medications, gambling, porn, food, and other addictive behaviors in an attempt to find relief and to feel better. And while some of these things may seem to provide temporary relief, they often lead to more shame, disconnection, and greater instability in one’s life over the long run. Some individuals who feel they cannot change accept and justify these often harmful ways of attempting to cope, pointing out how they help in some way, only to lose their job, total their car, lose their retirement, develop a serious health matter, become diabetic, or any of the many unintended consequences. All of these things may be difficult to face and further drive addiction. Each person’s path out of addiction is personal, complex, and not as easy as it would seem on the surface. It is necessary to address the underlying problems, to break from unhealthy relationship dynamics, and to find and to find deeper and more meaningful ways to connect with self and others. At the heart of it, addiction is about trying to connect to something much deeper inside in order to feel whole, but the temporary feeling of pleasure is an illusion and can leave the person feeling broken and empty: there is no substance, no gambling win, that can fill this bottomless pit. That is why the gambler (it could be any addictive behavior), even after a big win, goes back for more, or the person with heroin addiction ends up dead (Just One More Time): the feeling is temporary and actually numbs the pain and raw loneliness of the void within. There is much soul searching, suffering, and emotional and spiritual rebuilding that takes time and effort to restore connection with self and repair what the addiction has taken which could be a marriage, a bank account, and a meaningful life which may include spirituality and relationship with God (or Higher Power as they say in AA).
You will find that you can begin working with me and simply explore the issues and concerns that you see as most relevant to your life and that your session is yours talk about what is most important to you. If you decide to include your own faith-based beliefs and values, you will find that I am most familiar with Jewish and Christian faiths and am always open to learning more about how your faith adds richness and meaning to your life.
After gaining more clinical experience in private practice working with PTSD, trauma, military veterans and addictions, in addition to my clinical residency working with severe mental illness and developmental disability, I also began working with couples, and some adolescents and children. I found that I most enjoyed working with couples in their relationships and specific marital problems including the impact of military life on marriage, or the impact of infidelity and addiction on marriage. This, of course, lead to also dealing with separation and divorce though my main focus was on building or rebuilding a committed marriage.
I am able to help with most concerns at my solo private practice where you will find a calm and comforting place to share your innermost thoughts and feelings. As you work in the process of counseling, which usually begins with weekly sessions, you may notice how change can sometimes move very fast and other times slows down when working through something emotionally difficult. Counseling is a change and growth process through which you can work on your specific goals, conquer an addiction, repair a relationship, work through a crisis, and more.
What does it mean to be Conscious-hearted?- Being aware of self and soul
- Keen awareness of own feelings
- Navigating feelings with conscious skill
- Speaking from what is felt as truth
- Acting with purpose and intention
- Having deep self-knowledge
- Looking inside to gain a clear vision
- Self-reliance
- Serving others with a compassionate heart