My Counseling Philosophy

At its core, counseling is about the relationship. Education, experience, training, therapeutic approaches — none of it matters if a client doesn’t feel safe and comfortable in a therapeutic space. Recognition of that truth allows me to prioritize building strong, secure relationships with clients and families, and from that foundation we navigate whatever brought them to my office door.

Relationship building involves looking for what’s going well, what clients are good at, what their values are and what they like to do. When we look beyond diagnoses or deficits, we create opportunities to build insight and growth.

Clients should be empowered as competent, autonomous and informed participants in life. Knowledge, insight, and understanding are critical components to fostering autonomy, particularly for neurodivergent clients. When neurodivergent clients understand themselves, and the way their unique nervous systems operate, they are able to move away from confusion and shame. They move into confidence and resilience. They move away from self-doubt toward self-acceptance, and from self-acceptance toward truly celebrating all that makes them wonderfully unique and all they have to offer the world. They know what they need, and they learn how to cope with life and advocate for themselves in ways that honor their neurodiversity.

They don’t have to just survive anymore; they now have tools to thrive.

My Style

My style is fairly relaxed. I try to meet clients where they are at and aim to put them at ease. Counseling can be difficult, life too. It’s not only useful but necessary to balance that out a bit with a little humor and lightness. I would say this is typically well-received, but of course I would.