Right off the bat, my number one priority is helping you feel comfortable.Therapy works best when your nervous system knows you’re in a safe place to explore what’s been going on and what you’d like to create in your life. It can feel daunting at first, but rest assured — over my many years on Earth, there’s very little I haven’t already heard, and pretty much nothing shocks me at this point. And honestly, if you can’t feel safe talking to your therapist, who can you feel comfortable with?

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I place a great deal of importance on the therapeutic alliance, which is just a fancy name for the relationship between the two of us. Decades of research show that strong alliances make for strong therapeutic outcomes. From the beginning, we’ll talk openly about what helps you feel understood and what might get in the way. We’ll also name what a rupture might look like for you — and how we could repair it if one happens.

I’ve been in therapy myself, and I once “dumped” a therapist because I felt deeply misunderstood. From my perspective, my worldview was dismissed and replaced with theirs. That experience shaped my work. I make a point of giving my clients explicit permission to tell me if I miss something, misunderstand them, or even piss them off. Ruptures happen — what matters is whether there’s room to address them.

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Before beginning therapy, some people choose to have a brief Zoom conversation to ask questions and get a sense of whether working together might feel supportive. This conversation is optional and offered without pressure or expectation to continue.

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My role is to meet you where you are, while gently helping you imagine and work toward a version of yourself that may once have felt out of reach. Over time, connecting the dots can be meaningful, and I hope you may find my optimism for life — and for human resilience — contagious. After the stress, strain, and isolation of the COVID pandemic, collective mental health has taken a real hit. Reaching out for support can be a way of reclaiming ground rather than pushing yourself harder.

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Life also unfolds within a much larger context than we’re often taught to consider. As scientist and astronomer Carl Sagan described it, we live on a “Pale Blue Dot” — a reminder of our shared humanity and the vastness that holds us. My work is grounded in helping people make sense of their lives with curiosity, care, and perspective, rather than fear or urgency.