Sometimes you can recognize the patterns you’re caught in and still not know how to change them. You may understand why you overthink, people please, strive for perfection, or get stuck in certain thoughts, but that awareness alone hasn’t made things feel easier. Or maybe you’re still trying to understand why you feel the way you do in the first place.

I work with older teens (16+), young adults, and adults who are curious about themselves and want to understand what may be underneath what they’re experiencing. Together, we can look beyond the surface of what’s happening and make sense of the patterns, experiences, and relationships that have shaped you.

I believe our struggles make more sense when we understand the context in which they developed. Our identities, relationships, families, cultures, and the systems we navigate all influence how we move through the world. Rather than asking, “What is wrong with you?” I’m interested in questions like, “What has shaped you?” and “What makes sense about the ways you have learned to cope?”

OCD, Anxiety & Perfectionism

Your mind may rarely feel quiet. You might replay conversations, second guess decisions, seek reassurance, get caught in intrusive thoughts, or feel like you need certainty before you can move forward. Maybe there’s also an underlying pressure to do things the “right” way, avoid mistakes, or meet expectations that always seem just out of reach.

I have extensive experience working with OCD and enjoy supporting clients navigating anxiety and perfectionism. Rather than simply trying to make uncomfortable thoughts disappear, we can get curious about the patterns keeping you stuck, build your ability to tolerate uncertainty and difficult emotions, and practice responding differently when familiar thoughts or urges show up.

Eating Disorders & Body Image

When thoughts about food or your body take up so much mental space, it can be difficult to feel fully present in the rest of your life. You may find yourself following food rules, comparing your body to others, feeling guilty about what you eat, or believing you’ll finally feel better about yourself once something about your body changes.

I have extensive experience working with eating disorders, disordered eating, and body image concerns across multiple levels of care. Our work won’t be about adding more judgment or another list of rules to follow. We’ll get curious about what may be driving these patterns and explore how your experiences, relationships, culture, and identity have shaped your relationship with food, your body, and yourself.

My Approach

I see therapy as a collaborative process where we can be curious together about what you’re experiencing and what may be underneath it. I take time to build trust and create space for you to explore at your own pace, while also gently challenging you, offering a different perspective, or introducing practical tools when helpful.

There’s room in our sessions to follow what feels important to you that day while still keeping sight of what you want to work toward. We’ll find a balance between having direction and making space for whatever you may need in the moment.

I draw from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Internal Family Systems (IFS), with training in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for trauma. Rather than fitting you into one approach, I’ll adapt our work to you. My hope is that therapy helps you understand yourself with greater compassion, feel more confident navigating difficult emotions and experiences, and develop a deeper sense of trust in yourself.

Experience

My clinical experience includes providing individual and group therapy to adolescents and adults across outpatient, intensive outpatient (IOP), partial hospitalization (PHP), and residential levels of care.

I have extensive experience working with eating disorders and OCD, along with anxiety, trauma, identity concerns, self worth, and emotion regulation. Working across different levels of care has shaped my ability to adapt therapy to the person in front of me rather than expecting every client to respond to the same approach.

Licensure

I am a Clinical Fellow at Balanced Awakening, completing the final steps toward LCPC licensure. I have several years of clinical experience and I am currently accruing additional supervised practice to be eligible for the LCPC credential in Illinois. I am supervised by Andrea Espinosa, LCSW.