My Approach
A systemic and relational lens
I believe that your thoughts, emotions, and nervous system make sense within the relationships and systems you’ve lived inside of. Nothing exists in a vacuum—your feelings, distress, and behaviors are shaped by context, connection, and survival needs. I’m always holding the larger picture of how family dynamics, identity, culture, power, and lived experience have shaped the way you relate to yourself and to others.
This perspective helps reduce shame about and honors the adaptive patterns and strategies that helped you stay connected, loved, or survive, while also learning and practicing new ways of being and relating that move you towards a more vibrant and full life.
In a nutshell, we learn how to say:
thank you, next.What will our sessions be like?
Rather than staying focused on one viewpoint, therapy is an ongoing process of zooming in and zooming out.
We zoom out when it’s helpful to understand the broader context of your experiences, and we zoom in when it’s more supportive to work with what’s happening right now in your thoughts, emotions, body, and relationships.
Moving between these points of view helps us stay grounded and focused on your goals, without getting overwhelmed by the big picture or too lost in the sauce of any one perspective.
What this means in practice
In sessions we slow things down so we can notice patterns as they arise, and we pay attention to your nervous system, especially how it reacts in moments of stress, conflict, and disconnection.
From there, we work toward building more responsive and less reactive ways of relating to yourself and others.
My toolkit
As we oscillate between zoomed-in and zoomed-out perspectives, I anchor our work in well-researched, clinically supported theories and approaches, including but not limited to:
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Relational-Cultural Theory
Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy
Relational Therapy
Polyvagal Theory
Attachment Theory
Emotion-Focused Therapy
Somatic Therapy
Narrative Therapy
Systems Theory
Emotion-Focused Couples Therapy
Developmental Model of Couples Therapy
Gottman Method
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
Experiential Therapy
Existential Therapy
I use my toolkit thoughtfully and collaboratively based on what feels most supportive for you. Much like a whisk wouldn’t be your tool of choice when tasked with hanging a picture on the wall, not every theory is going to be well-suited for the work we’re doing together!
Licensed Professional Counselor Associate (Texas, #97766)
M.A. in Professional Clinical Counseling
Supervision by Stephanie Van Fossen, Certified Sex Therapist and Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor
Ongoing training in trauma, polyvagal, identity-affirming care, and more.
Let’s be real. This info is both important and, perhaps, a little boring. I’ve done my best to keep it short and sweet.
Credentials & training
I also believe in doing my own work
I know firsthand what it feels like to sit in the client’s chair and have your raw, tender, messy humanness witnessed and held. You won’t be judged or rushed through these moments, we’ll give them the time, space, and tenderness they deserve.