At Bold Expressions Therapy, we strive to create a safe space that encourages bravery and fosters resilience. We believe that connection and a sense of belonging are among the most important things a human being can have in life, and we want to encourage you to speak openly and honestly about your experiences. We want you to come as you are, and we will meet you where you are.
Major Life Changes & Loss
Whether you’re experiencing a career change, a new relationship, a romantic break-up, a pregnancy, a miscarriage, an abortion, the death of a loved one, or an unexpected medical diagnosis, major life changes can be painful and challenging to navigate. No matter what the transition is, my goal is to meet each patient where they are. We can encounter moments of excitement and devastation with healing and growth, even when change was not what we anticipated.
Chronic Illness
For individuals with invisible chronic illnesses, hiding your pain all the time becomes exhausting. With a chronic health issue, you don’t get to choose when you’re in pain and when you’re not, and as such, I keep my cancellation policy flexible so that I can best support you. There is often a great deal of shame surrounding chronic illness, and significant stigma as well, both from the medical community and society at large. This can lead to depression and anxiety, both medical anxiety and social anxiety. I want to work with you to ensure that your chronic illness does not completely shape your mental health. As someone who suffers from a chronic pain condition, I am understanding and aware of the unique challenges that diagnoses such as fibromyalgia, Ehlers-Danlos, Dysautonomia, arthritis, and cancer have on an individual’s personal, romantic, and professional life. My goal is to help each patient understand and accept these diagnoses and work together to manage both the physical symptoms as well as the mental turmoil that can occur while trying to live life in an able-bodied world.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer Identity issues
As a member of the LGBT community, and as someone who holds degrees both in psychology and LGBT Health and Policy, I couple an academic understanding of the unique disparities that come with these identities with a profound personal knowledge of them in my own life. Not all patients have had positive experiences with the medical community, so it is my hope that my education and bisexual identity will serve my patients in a way that makes them feel both heard and seen. I also recognize that our identities can be static, or they can be fluid, and that the coming out process isn’t something we do just once: we do it over and over again.
Transgender, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, Gender Non-conforming issues
I do not personally identify as cisgender, and so I approach the issues facing the transgender, nonbinary, genderqueer, and gender non-conforming communities with deep empathy and personal understanding. From fluidity to transitioning, hormone replacement therapy, to writing letters for surgery, I am committed to supporting my clients on their journeys. Not everyone experiences their own gender in the same way, so the discussion of gender as a construct and societal gender norms is at the forefront of our discussions in working through the big mess that is gender.
Navigating Ethical Non-Monogamy
Open relationships, polyamory, and ethical non-monogamy have become hot-button topics, but can be deeply misunderstood, and are often viewed as taboo. I understand that not all relationships look the same, and that not all people want the same things. Families look different, and that is something to be celebrated. I am actively staying abreast of the most current research on these topics so that I can help you to navigate their stigma while maintaining the happy, healthy bonds you have with your partners.
Racial & Social Injustice
Oppression and racial injustice shape our internal and external world, and this is especially true for people of color. I approach issues of race and social injustice from the perspective that Black Lives not only matter, but diversity makes our society better, brighter, and more compassionate. I believe addressing the dangers of systemic oppression and injustice and speaking to differences in race and opportunity are powerful tools to aid in self-understanding, and that therapy can be on the front lines of dismantling white supremacy.
PTSD and Trauma
Trauma surrounds us all, especially in the current climate, and it can take on many forms. I work specifically with both PTSD and CPTSD in a manner that will allow us to begin to untangle the buildup of trauma over time. I believe it is my job to help you to develop the skills and understanding you need to live a full life with the diagnosis of PTSD or CPTSD. Navigating my own CPTSD has given me an appreciation for how vital therapy is to managing the symptoms associated with these conditions.
Depression and Anxiety
I am passionate about working with anyone who has experienced depression or anxiety and who wants to take a deeper look at how these painful thoughts and feelings developed, and how they shape their daily lives. I strive to give my patients a myriad of coping skills and therapeutic tools that will allow them to deftly navigate the world’s everyday stressors, and ask them to look introspectively at their own expectations and biases as together we resist heteronormative patriachal structures.
Borderline Personality Disorder
If you have received a diagnosis of BPD, then you know that mitigating your varying moods is critical to leading a full and happy life. I am committed to working with my patients so that they can develop a complete understanding of their own patterns and behaviors so that they can learn to anticipate when a shift might be coming, and what they can do to make that shift a little softer. This is a condition that also bears a lot of stigma, and I hope to create a judgement-free space where my patient feels emboldened to express themselves openly and honestly.
