About Me
I was raised in Melrose Park, Illinois. I attended undergraduate school at Northern Illinois University, where I continued to grow in my interest and love for the topic of psychology. Following my graduation from NIU, I worked for an agency whose mission was to improve the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities through community living, supported employment, and meaningful recreation. I loved serving this population and improving in my ability to support others to live up to their full potential, despite the various challenges they faced. I soon decided to pursue my dream to be a mental health therapist. I found a working professional program through the Illinois Institute of Technology that presented me with the opportunity to further my training. I completed my Rehabilitation Counseling Training and immediately shifted to working as a counselor with the individuals I had previously case-managed, before fully transitioning to working in private practice.
I specialize in working with individuals managing depression, anxiety, relationship conflicts, self-esteem issues, codependency, grief, fear, loneliness, and adjustments to the events of life. Having clients share their stories with me is a responsibility that I do not take lightly. I focus on listening and understanding what they are going through, helping them to carry the challenges they face in life so that they are less alone. I believe that meaningful conversations can truly be the catalyst for major change, and a trusting relationship with an objective therapist can make a huge impact.
Therapeutic Approach
My therapeutic style is based on the individual that I’m working with. I prioritize rapport building and using the therapeutic relationship as a starting point for change. I tend to use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to focus on how our thinking affects our lives, as well as a strengths-based and solutions-focused approach which offers concrete action items to use here and now. My approach includes monitoring the larger scope and goals that my clients have for themselves, and those that we work to identify together. I believe in empathy and compassion, and understand that a person’s desire to improve their life is all that is needed to get started. I work to validate client’s feelings while also pushing them to reach the potential that they have set forth for themselves. If a client is inclined to dig deeper, I typically take a Psychodynamic approach which allows the client to reflect on patterns that may have a deeply rooted history.
