What kind of clients do you work with?

I would say that it divides up into two specialties. I often work with teenagers and young adults with autism, who may also be experiencing other challenges, like depression, anxiety, or PTSD. This often overlaps with folks in the LGBTQIA community or people who are interested in kink, polyamory, or generally exploring their experiences with sex, dating, and relationships. I also often work with parents on how to better support their Autistic teens and adult children.

On the other side, I work with people who experience complex PTSD, reactive attachment, or trauma-based challenges.

What is your therapeutic approach?

My main approach is clinical behavioral analysis. Behavior analysis is the science and study of human behavior and applying that in a way that will be meaningful in our lives. That means we’re focused on understanding the context for why we behave the way we do, practicing new behaviors, and skill building.

I also use talk therapy, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and some Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). I choose what works to meet my client’s needs.

What does that look like in practice?

Our sessions can be very different from typical talk therapy sessions. Just to give one example, if someone wants to work on dating skills, we might run a practice date, or go to a bar and work on how to talk to people. I’ve met people for sessions over telehealth, in my office, at a coffee shop, or even while hiking. Being outside and able to walk around can be incredibly helpful for people with anxiety or depression - your brain processes things differently when your body is moving than when you’re sitting in an office. 

I always start with - what would your life look like, if things were better? How would you know? I’m a solutions-focused therapist, so I want us to focus on the positive place you’re trying to go to, and not get caught in a negative loop.

People might say - I really want to date, but I don’t know where to start. So I’ll ask - what do you want from a relationship? What kinds of qualities, experiences? As we identify issues they may need help with, that’s where the practice comes in. Maybe they have sensory issues, and going out to a crowded restaurant would be uncomfortable. So we’ll plan where else they can go. How do you have an open, flowing conversation, how to know how to split the bill, pay the tip? Going over these things provides the foundation for my clients to overcome their concerns and have new experiences.

With ACT, it’s about picking the values that are important to you, and then I can support you around maintaining your focus and growth around those. If you’re focused on work and mental health right now, we might focus on functional communication with your boss, not on making friends or finding a partner.

What got you interested in working with these particular issues?

The reason why I feel so passionately about my practice is because there is really a gap - we have services to treat autism, we have services to treat mental health, but we don’t have services to treat someone with autism, depression, and anxiety. I want to fill that gap.

How do you make clients feel comfortable in session?

I often get thanked by my clients for being so understanding or not judging them. I’ve had a lot of clients appreciate my knowledge around the queer community, or kink. They were embarrassed to bring up a topic. Since I knew enough about it, they didn’t have to get into the nitty gritty details.

I also try to be open with my own struggles and model how I handle them. My own ADHD affects me all the time in session. So I’ll call it out and say, “Oh, I just lost that word. My executive functioning skills are failing me right now.” I also wear a fidget ring, I take drinks of cold water, and practice deep breathing before every session. I try to support myself as an individual, so I can model for my client that it’s ok to do that, too.

I also provide a lot of psycho-education about what may be happening for them - for example, if they’re feeling anxious about where a relationship is going, we may talk about the neuroscience behind why our brains want to categorize things, etc.

What do you love about therapy?

I’ve had a lot of clients that felt like depression or anxiety was running their life, and didn’t see any hope or light at the end of the tunnel. They felt like, ‘this is something that was done to me, and I have to sit in it forever’. Throughout my career, I’ve been able to see them have more power over what works for their brain, I’ve seen them build knowledge, skills, and confidence. I had some of my own challenges as a young person, and I want to be the person for others that I think I needed.