Relationships matter.
In all the years I’ve been a clinical social worker, this has been the foundation on which I’ve built my approach to therapy. It’s not my job to “fix” you because, while you may feel a bit broken, I can assure you that you are not. Sometimes, we need good company to work through life’s challenges with before we’re able to re-discover our strength and recognize ourselves as whole.
That’s where I - and the relationship we create - come in.
My role, as a therapist, is to partner with you in creating a sense of felt safety within our therapeutic relationship. I do this through active listening, validating and honoring your lived experiences, recognizing you as the expert on your life and family, and holding space for anything and everything you bring to our sessions together. The therapeutic relationship becomes a safe harbor for vulnerability, honesty, and ultimately, healing and change.
I have a strengths-based, client-centered, trauma-informed and developmentally appropriate approach to my work with clients. I provide LGBTQIA2S+ affirming care and am neurodivergent friendly. I meet clients where they are at in their journey and partner with you in creating goals for our work together - your priorities become my priorities. This includes deciding what model of therapy will be used to create change.
Throughout my life, people that I know and others that I don’t, have said to me “you’d make a great therapist.” And that’s because of everything else I bring to the relationship. Compassion, empathy, non-judgment, the capacity to “be with” you in your most difficult feelings, a sense of humor, and the ability to look beyond what’s brought you to therapy by seeing you for who you are - a pearl waiting to be found.
My Approach to Therapy
After graduating from Bridgewater State College (BA in Sociology) in 2004 and from Rhode Island College with my Master’s Degree in Social Work in 2006, I worked with young children (0-3) and families as a home visiting service coordinator/social worker for the People Incorporated Early Intervention Program/Early Intervention Partnership Program in Fall River, Ma. My time working closely with young families taught me how important the early years are, for both children and their caregivers, and I became passionate about maternal and infant/early childhood mental health as I witnessed, time and again, the healing power of relationships.
I’ve also provided individual therapy to children who were victims of abuse and neglect, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, substance use exposure and witness to domestic violence, and provided ongoing support and education to caregivers as a clinical social worker for the Youth Trauma Program, a program of JRI. I gained in-depth knowledge about the impact of trauma on the body and brain while becoming skilled in various models of trauma-focused treatment.
My time as a clinical social worker for the People Incorporated Preschool and Children’s Center, both in Fall River, Ma, focused on providing developmentally appropriate and trauma-informed clinical support to our young students. I also supported caregivers and classroom teachers which provided a rich opportunity to engage in reflective practice, understand the unique needs of adult learners and strengthen my clinical skills.
Part of being a skilled therapist is understanding the need to continually learn and grow in this field. While I have extensive training in and experience using evidence-based models of therapy, I’m also always working toward mastering other ways to support those I work with. I completed the 2020 MOM and Postpartum Support International Maternal Mental Health Certificate Course in 2022 and earned my Certification in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH-C) in 2024.
