Psychotherapy
I provide individual psychotherapy or "therapy" for adults (18 years old+). Psychotherapy is a collaborative journey and my goal is to create a space where you feel heard, supported, and understood. Together, we’ll explore the thoughts and feelings that weigh on you, identify patterns that may be holding you back, and discover strategies that help you feel more balanced and confident.
I specialize in Supporting Clients with:
- Anxiety and Depression
- Trauma
- Perinatal Mental Health, including pregnancy, postpartum, and other reproductive experiences
- Tobacco Cessation
- Problem Gambling
- Stress Management and Self-care
- Life Transitions and Phase-of-Life Challenges
PERINATAL & MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH
Emotional changes after giving birth are common, but intense feelings that persist beyond the first two weeks may signal something more than the “baby blues.”
Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders including depression, anxiety, panic, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and psychosis. These challenges often go unrecognized due to stigma, shame, fear, or lack of awareness about available support. You are not alone. I focus on supporting whole-person wellness during pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond. My goal is to help you navigate the complexities of parenthood while breaking the myths and stigma surrounding maternal mental health. Therapy, education, and supportive care can help you navigate your journey while promoting wellness for you and your family.
Visit Postpartum Support International at www.postpartum.net to learn more about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and for available resources.
What Psychotherapy Techniques or Approaches Do You Use (not an exhaustive list)?
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and CBT with Mindfulness
Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT)
Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)
How do sessions work?
I offer services via secure video conferencing so psychotherapy can fit naturally into your life. You simply log in from a private space where you feel safe, grounded, and able to focus on yourself.
How long is a session?
Sessions can last from 45 to 60 minutes, but we can adjust the length to fit your needs. The overall length of psychotherapy depends on your goals and the pace that supports your growth.
How do I schedule a session?
You can schedule an intake session by clicking the "Let's Get Started" button below.
Clinical Assessments for Immigration Petitions
A clinical evaluation for immigration petitions is a comprehensive mental health assessment and detailed report that helps immigration courts understand how an individual's mental health may be affected by their immigration case. Licensed mental health professionals conduct the evaluations, which may include:
Reviewing relevant records, such as medical, mental health, legal, and education records
- Evaluating the individual's emotional well-being, trauma history, and coping abilities
- Assessing cognitive functioning, resilience, and ability to adapt to new environments
- Looking for signs of mental health disorders, such as anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress
- Analyzing the consistency and credibility of the individual's narrative
Clinical Interview:
I meet with the client 2-3 different times for a total of about 3-6 hours. I can perform assessment interviews in person in your attorney’s office or via video.
A professional interpreter must be utilized for clients who do not speak English. This can be provided by your attorney or I can arrange for the interpreter, on your behalf.
Types of Immigration Petitions:
The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA): These evaluations focus on demonstrating that the psychological trauma and distress an immigrant is enduring has resulted from domestic violence experienced while married to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Despite the name, VAWA applications are available to immigrants of any gender.
Asylum Cases: Individuals applying for asylum have suffered much psychical, psychological and/ or religious discrimination in their country. They are afraid to return to their home country due to a fear of persecution (mistreatment/abuse). This evaluation includes a specific account of the abuse and mistreatment suffered, as well as the emotional distress endured as a result of the persecution in their country.
Hardship Waivers: Hardship waivers and cancellation of removal evaluations focus on demonstrating that the removal of an immigrant would cause extreme hardship to the U.S. citizen or a legal resident family member.
U/T Visas: U/T Visa evaluations focus on demonstrating that the psychological trauma an immigrant is enduring has resulted from being the victim of a crime that occurred in the U.S. or violated U.S. law.
Life Coaching
A Life Coach is someone who is always in your corner and helps you achieve your personal goals. Life coaches help you uncover what’s blocking your success and happiness in areas of your life such as relationships, career, health, personal growth, and more. A life coach can help you identify priorities and guide you to discover what your passion really is, how to achieve it, and how to remove the emotional and psychological barriers that are preventing you from reaching your goals.
Life Coaching Certification – What Credentials Should Your Coach Have?
It may surprise you to know that there is absolutely no regulations or credentials required to be a life coach.
If you conduct a quick Google search, I’m sure that you will see lots of people claiming to be a certified life coach, or advertise some kind of life coaching certification. In actuality, a life coaching certification can be anything from a weekend training class, to an internet based two-hour self-study course.
This can be quite concerning with trained, licensed mental health professionals! That’s because unless your life coach is an experienced psychotherapist, they likely have no in-depth training in human behavior, psychology, sociology and social interactions, personality theory, or emotional and mental health. Perhaps you are not achieving your goals because you don’t have someone holding you accountable (which a life coach would do!), but maybe you are not achieving your goals because you have a mental health issue, such as, adult ADHD or trauma. Only a licensed psychotherapist, who is also experienced as a coach, will be able to accurately evaluate for that.
How Can a Life Coach Help You?
A life coach can help you by:
Holding you accountable in order to achieve your identified goals and dreams
Keeping you focused and on track
Giving you new and more effective strategies to manage your life
Helping you with stress management and other emotional issues
Collaborating with you to design a concrete plan to get you where you want to be in your life
Helping you improve your relationships
Helping you be more effective and productive at work or home
Teaching you how to get more satisfaction out of life
Helping you better understand and improve your physical health
Clinical Supervision for LCSW-As
I provide clinical supervision to LCSW Associates who lives in North Carolina and Virginia.
My clinical interest/expertise include:
- Treatment of Mood and Anxiety Disorders with Adults
- Prenatal and Postpartum Depession and Anxiety Disorder in Women
- Tobacco Cessation in Adults
- Trauma
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Co-Occurring Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders
- Psychological Evaluations for Immigration
If you live in the Alamance County area (Burlington, Graham, Mebane, Elon), I am able to provide all F-T-F in person clinical supervision in my home office(private, and confidential) or a combination of face-to-face in-person and face-to-face video conferencing clinical supervision. I use a HIPAA compliant videoconferencing platform.
If I have a minimum of three people receiving individual clinical supervision, I will discuss with all supervisees about establishing group supervision sessions.
If you are not offered clinical supervision at your worksite, I am open to establishing a contract with your employer to provide clinical supervision to you . I can provide group clinical supervision on the work site and/or individual clinical supervision at the worksite or in my home office. Fees for on-site supervision services will need to be negotiated on a case-by-case basis.
Current NC Clinical Social Work Clinical Supervision Statute (rev. July 2022):
Unless pre-approved in writing by the Board, no more than 50 hours of clinical supervision provided through the use of technology may be applied toward satisfying the supervision requirements for LCSW licensure. The supervisor may seek approval for additional supervision by electronic means by submitting the required form. If a LCSWA licensee has completed or is nearing completion of the 50 hours of supervision via technology allotted, the LCSW supervisor may complete and submit the Request for Supervision Via Technology form and email to the Executive Director, Elizabeth Pope (epope@ncswboard.gov). Approval of the request shall be determined on a case-by-case basis, based upon the circumstances provided in the request. In addition, supervision provided through the use of technology shall be synchronous, involve visual and audio interactions throughout the entire session, and shall take place in such a manner as to maintain the confidentiality of the communication [21 NCAC 63 .0211 (a) (4)].
Virginia Regulations for Clinical Supervision (18VAC140-20-50):
A minimum of one hour and a maximum of four hours of face-to-face supervision shall be provided per 40 hours of work experience for a total of at least 100 hours. No more than 50 of the 100 hours may be obtained in group supervision, nor shall there be more than six persons being supervised in a group unless approved in advance by the board. The board may consider alternatives to face-to-face supervision if the applicant can demonstrate an undue burden due to hardship, disability, or geography. a. Supervised experience shall be acquired in no less than two nor more than four consecutive years. b. Supervisees shall obtain throughout their hours of supervision a minimum of 1,380 hours of supervised experience in face-to-face client contact in the delivery of clinical social work services. The remaining hours may be spent in ancillary services supporting the delivery of clinical social work services. 3. An individual who does not complete the supervision requirement after four consecutive years of supervised experience may request an extension of up to 12 months. The request for an extension shall include evidence that demonstrates extenuating circumstances that prevented completion of the supervised experience within four consecutive years.