I'm a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and founder of Rising Anchor Therapy. I provide high quality, compassionate, and directive therapy with folks who feel stuck, overwhelmed, or frustrated that they aren't where they want to be.
Here's the quick view of who I work with:
After working for years in toxic community mental health work environments, I founded Rising Anchor Therapy. Our mission is to provide high quality, individualized care for clients from therapists who are not burnout, and have the energy and training to provide great therapy. As a practice, we advocate for a change of oppressive systems that have an impact on individual mental health rather than just focusing on symptoms. We are affirming allies and advocates. Everyone is welcome and safe to be themselves here.
I’ve been working in the mental health field since 2014 and have a range of training and experience focusing on treating teens, adults, and families with anxiety and depression, trauma, and high relational conflict. I’m from the east coast and have a casual and direct communication approach. Although I've got the background as a mental health expert, I don’t pretend to be an expert on your life or tell you what to do. Instead I work collaboratively with you to empower you to meet your goals. I believe a good therapeutic relationship is a balance between empathy and support, and gentle challenges to get you where you want to be. My approach combines elements of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Narrative, and Existential to find what works best for each person, couple, or family.
In my opinion, there’s two types of therapy. The COW and the dance. A cow is a crisis of the week. It’s spending years and years in therapy without much progress, always focused on what is going wrong in that moment and spending most of session time venting about the current crisis in that week. I believe there’s always time to vent and process but I also believe that therapy shouldn’t last forever and it’s my job as your therapist to help you see the patterns of what’s causing the weekly crisis. That way we can have some honest conversations about how to learn and use skills to problem solve the patterns in your “dance” and create real change.
If you're a professional high achiever looking to manage stress and optimize performance, I can help you develop the mental and emotional resilience you need to succeed. Using evidence-based therapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy and mindfulness, I can help you overcome obstacles, cultivate positive habits, and achieve your goals and work through burn out.
I love working with high-achieving young professionals in intensive careers who are struggling to find work/life balance, manage expectations and perfectionism, and battle imposter syndrome. I work frequently with folks whose identity and definition of success is tied to what they do, which can mean feelings of failure or emptiness especially when work productivity goes down. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques along with direct, empathetic feedback can help support you get out of a work rut and improve work life balance and productivity. I often work together with healthcare workers, salespeople, entrepreneurs and other folks who tend to be highly motivated to work towards change and open to feedback to problem solve collaboratively.
If you are a teenager, or have a teenager who is struggling to fit in, succeed in school, who's mood and and habits have changed recently, or who might just need someone to talk to, I can help you build skills to get through these challenges. I also teach parenting classes and enjoy helping parents and teens to improve their relationships and communication.
As a therapist specializing in working with teens, I understand the unique challenges and struggles that come with this stage of life. I use a client-centered approach to help teens navigate issues like anxiety, depression, and self-esteem, and to develop the skills and tools they need to thrive. I typically help teens manage things like school stress, lack of motivation, social anxiety, college application pressure, friendship issues, family conflict, impulsivity, anger management, and peer pressure. Teens and adolescents can learn positive coping skills to manage stress, anger, depression, ADHD, and anxiety. We learn social skills to help them manage conflict with peers and overcome social anxiety and mood reactivity. Therapy gives teens a safe space to talk through their identity, life transition, moods, and frustrations and learn healthy coping mechanisms for their difficult emotions.
Sometimes we think of trauma as a singular life defining event, but trauma can also be the complex smaller things that add up pver time, like our emotional needs not getting met or feeling unsafe around other people. If you find yourself feeling like you are waiting for the next “bad thing” to happen, looking over your shoulder, having difficulty relaxing and feeling safe, you might benefit from trauma therapy. Sometimes we can re-experience memories or “space out” often in triggering situations. Individual therapy for trauma can help to process these events and learn skills to learn to feel safe and secure.
If you're experiencing traumatic stress or if you're just looking to process some stuff from the past, I can help you process your feelings and develop coping strategies to manage the impact of your experiences. Using trauma-informed therapies like Narrative Mapping and CBT, I will work with you to create a safe and supportive space for healing and growth.
If you're feeling lost or uncertain about your place in the world or your "time line", I can help you explore your values, beliefs, and goals to create a more meaningful and fulfilling life. I enjoy helping folks work through existential crises, especially in their 20s and 30s when it comes to navigating imposter syndrome, feeling behind, and finding meaning in your life.
I've moved across the country myself and love supporting folks adjusting to new environments, helping them in building confidence and community after any life transition. Using existential and mindfulness-based approaches, I can guide you through life transitions and help you navigate the challenges of self-discovery. We can learn How To Navigate Overwhelming Feelings About Life Goals, Comparing Yourself To Others, Feeling “Behind” On The Timeline Of Life Events, Changing Careers Or Positions, Break Ups, Moving To A New City, And Dealing With Changing Family Relationships.
Therapy for the relationships in your life: Family therapy, Couples or Marriage Therapy, and Business Partnership Therapy:
