Learn more about the Therapist
While the focus of therapy is on you, often times client’s have told me they were curious to know more about me. Sigmund Freud would have never tolerated such discussion; however, I’m happy to share how I’ve come to this place. From a young age I wanted to help others heal from the hurts they’d experienced in life. I saw many people around me experience significant emotional pain that continued to impact their relationships, the way they felt about themselves, and their ability to move forward in life. There was something deep within me that knew, if people could get beyond these emotional hurts, their lives would be so much better. So naturally, off I went to college, with no other consideration for any other profession. Step by step I earned my education and credentialing as a Licensed Professional Counselor. I focused significantly on my own growth and self-awareness during this time. During my early career I worked with children and young adolescents. Quickly my framework for understanding trauma and issues of attachment came into play. It was powerful; childhood, the bedrock of who we become. Later I would have the honor of switching things up and working directly with active-duty military members and their spouses and families. During this time I gained a profound appreciation for our nation’s military. I was embedded with several units, coming to have a first-hand understanding of what it means for military men and women to work endless hours, train relentlessly, and deploy repeatedly. Much of my work focused on individual and couples concerns related to family life/work balance, military life stress, and deployment related issues. And, during this time my professional niche/theme continued to develop: trauma. Currently I am an EFT trained counselor with aspirations to become certified. EFT is a fabulous therapy model for addressing couples distress and establishing legitimate ways for couples to reconnect in lasting and meaningful ways. EFT also addresses significant attachment and trauma concerns. As you can see, my perspective as a therapist draws heavily on my understanding of early attachment, trauma and its continuing affects, and family or origin dynamics. Attachment has to do with how we perceive the world, from our earliest moments of life (and onward) was the world a safe place to be? Trauma has to do with the significantly distressful events that occur throughout our lives that further confirm or challenge our ideas based our attachment experience. And, family of origin concerns the dynamics of the family we grew up with: where and how we fit in, what we came to believe about ourselves and our role in this world. I believe that many of the ways we think of ourselves and others, what we expect or anticipate in our lives, and how we react and cope with life issues is a result of our attachment, trauma experiences, and our family of origin dynamics. To read more see “About Insight Counseling” or simply click here: Similar to always knowing I wanted to be a therapist, I also knew I wanted to be in private practice. The development of Insight Counseling of Alexandria, LLC, my very own therapy practice, is truly a vision realized. I love what I do. I thrive on working with the people who choose to come see me. I’ve often said, “I feel like a Golden Retriever who’s fetched a ball and is all giddy with excitement; that’s me when I’m doing the work I was meant for.” And by the way, I am a huge animal lover.
With the themes of trauma and attachment set as the bedrock for my understanding of why some people experience life more difficult than others, I began to pursue Trauma Informed therapies as well as Emotionally Focused Couples therapy. Read more
When you are ready, feel free to call or contact me via the contact form on this site. I’m more than happy to answer your initial questions and set up an appointment. (703) 457-6828 Contact Me