I truly believe learning to care for yourself is one of the most important steps we can take and I’m so glad you’re here! This journey looks different for each person and many aspects might be elusive or challenging to tackle on your own. I believe therapy can help by offering consistent structure and support to build a deeper understanding of self and gain awareness into how to create new patterns to foster compassion, stronger relationships with others, and confidence to handle whatever life might throw at you. My overall approach is relational and trauma-informed, this means the relationship we build together is paramount and is based on collaboration, safety, and autonomy.

colleGE STUDENTS

Being a student and young adult creates many opportunities for introspection and transition. I have multiple years of experience working with undergrad and graduate students and I deeply enjoy supporting students in building insight into themselves and learning how to address acculturation stress, setting boundaries, competing demands, academic difficulties, and relationship concerns. Being a student is one facet of your identity and I aim to create an environment that is culturally responsive and appreciates the other identities that make up your lived experience, such as being a first-gen or international student, or identifying as disabled, LGBTQIA+, or neurodiverse. I use Cognitive-behavioral Therapy (CBT), interpersonal, and solutions-focused therapy with students to foster growth, work-life balance, identity development, and self-advocacy.

TRAUMA

I am extremely passionate about working with clients who desire to shift patterns that have left them feeling stuck. This might look like feeling fatigued or disconnected or finding it difficult to cope with strong emotions, stress, or conflict in your relationships. I have experience working with adults who identify as having experienced neglect, sexual, relational, or generational trauma. I often use Time-Limited Dynamic Psychotherapy (TLDP) to explore relationship patterns and create opportunities for growth within a focused timeframe, along with interpersonal, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), somatic, mindfulness-based, and cognitive-behavioral strategies to support lasting change. These strategies help us identify what has influenced your relationships dynamics, beliefs about yourself and others, and coping styles. Because processing stressful experiences takes a lot of effort and energy, I focus on offering concrete skills to practice and implement to ensure that you have the tools to feel supported and grounded throughout the therapeutic process.

EMOTION REGULATION

I believe emotions are an important part of our experience and when strong emotions impact our relationships, self-esteem, or response to situations it can be challenging. I have extensive experience providing therapy focused on emotion regulation to those who identify as neurodivergent, (ADHD, autism, or AuDHD), or who experience symptoms of suicidality, Borderline Personality Disorder, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, or trauma. I often work with clients to identify how emotions serve us and how we can better cope with feelings such as stress, rejection, anger, perfectionism, burnout, and grief. I utilize Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and interpersonal strategies to help clients understand the role of their emotions and respond to them in a way that fosters trust in self, strong conflict resolution, and healthy coping. I believe the mind-body connection is integral and I often include somatic and mindfulness based strategies to help clients learn how to regulate their nervous system as well.

Experience

My previous clinical work included providing individual and group counseling and psychological assessment to children and adults. I have experience working in community mental health, university counseling centers, and private practice. I most recently completed my doctoral internship at Counseling and Psychological Services at the University of Arkansas.

Licensure

I am a postdoctoral resident at Balanced Awakening. I have several years of clinical experience, yet require additional supervised practice before being eligible for licensure in the state of Illinois. I am supervised by Dr. Caitlin Stumpner and Dr. Hannah Yang outside of appointment times.