About My Practice
I work with adults age 18 and older.
I am an ally. My office is a safe space for cultural and religious diversity, differently-abled, and LGBTQ clients.
Anxiety Specialist
Grief
PTSD
Social Anxiety
Stage Fright
Panic Disorders
Sexual Abuse
Trauma
Women’s Issues
Depression (Mild to Moderate)
Life Transitions
And many other challenges
- Contact
About Wellness Arts Counseling, llc
Who am I
I have a great deal of life experience in the creative arts and I bring that to my work in therapy, using my intuition to notice both the details and the bigger picture. I became a therapist as a second career gaining my MSW from LSU, doing internships and residency, then gaining my license in 2019. In 2020 I established my own practice which has allowed me to specialize and to focus care for my clients. Being able to work my own schedule and to tailor therapy has allowed me to be more creative and flexible in my approach, which I believe, greatly benefits my clients. Currently my practice is based in Virginia and I serve the entire state with online therapy and the Northern Virginia area with Walk and Talk which happens in park settings near Haymarket and Marshall, Virginia.
What I Do
My practice focuses primarily on Anxiety Disorders and the many related issues that may contribute to anxiety such as: PTSD, Trauma, Bullying, Fears, Grief/Loss, or Depression. I focus on evidence-based practice which simply means that the main therapies and modalities that I use such as EMDR, Mindfulness, CBT, Parts Work (IFS, Ego States) have all been studied scientifically and found to be effective in the treatment of mental health.
The goal is to guide my clients as they tap into their own empowerment, purpose, self-care, healing, positive self-talk, talents and strengths.
My Philosophy
I believe you tailor therapy to the client, because we are all different. It is my deeply held belief that every human being has gifts and many strengths which are entirely unique to them. Just as each person is physically different, so too a person's path through life has different experiences, learning opportunities, trials, and connections resulting in vastly different and multifaceted selves. Teaching people to embrace who they are, flaws, gifts and all, helps my clients to accept and understand that perfectionism, or the opposite (a focus on imperfections) are both blocks to our journey. That we move forward when we recognize what the mistakes we've made have taught us and the new perspectives that we have gained along the way.
Why I Use EMDR & Why I Also Combine EMDR With Other Therapies
More
EMDR therapy facilitates the processing of distressing memories and promotes emotional healing. Essentially the idea behind EMDR is that it uses an adaptive method of processing to reduce the vividness and charge of difficult memories. It combines a bilateral stimulation of the body (using alternate tapping, eye movement, or sound) to connect the mind and body as the processing occurs. In conjunction with this the therapist guides the client throughout and engages breath work (taking deep breaths) for the client. Combining this with parts work has been very powerful in my practice, as clients identify and heal the parts of themselves that suffered trauma along the way. Connecting in elements of CBT, Mindfulness and Parts can happen in-between sessions or during EMDR. You can see more information on EMDR at Emdria.org