Services Offered

Relationships can be hard. We can only control ourselves, as much as we sometimes want to just tell someone else what to do or how they can change to make things better for us. It is very common for people, when they begin to develop communication blockages, to find a functional way to begin to address this - and then stick with this thing that worked until stops working - and instead turns into a dysfunctional cycle. We don't intend to run things off the rails, but it happens to us all at times. Whether you find yourself seeking couples therapy, or marriage counseling, or help with exploring and negotiating consensual non-monogamy within your relationship, or assistance with restructuring adult parent/child dynamics, the need itself can feel deflating. I want you to know you are strong for seeking help in sorting out life's confusions and disappointments. We can work together to reconfigure emotional responses and connections so that these again become supportive of you in your life, whether in-person in Columbia, SC or virtually across South Carolina.

Trauma affects not just your memories, but how you experience your own being, your connections to those close to you, and stresses your internal sense of safety, creating triggering responses of fight, flight, freeze or fawn/flop. My approach recognizes that trauma impacts each person differently and requires a pace and process that feels right for you.​ I work with adults and teens (ages 14+) in Columbia, SC, using evidence-based approaches and a calm, regulated empathic approach to you and your story about what happened to you.

Individual counseling (individual therapy) can be a place to explore issues within ourselves, such as depression, anxiety, sexual compatibility concerns, relationhips with others, and of course, our relationship with ourselves in general. As a systemic therapist, I believe in the centrality of the idea of humans as social creatures, and this focus is as important as how we are perceived by others. We can help you strengthen your sense of self esteem and self-confidence, regardless of your specific issue of concern. If I am not a good fit, I will let you know and help you locate another therapist of provider who may be better situated to help you.

Communication is multifaceted. It is a smile, a sigh, a physical tightening, a laugh, a shared look into another's eyes - or it can be verbal in the full kaleidoscope from intimately connected to conflict ridden. Communication is usually the first victim of relational breakdown. Communication can also be re-imagining new connections and renegotiating existing patterns and boundaries. Lost connection, even infidelity, are fundamentally miscommunication, often lurking unsurfaced for a long time before rupturing. All of this generates substantial anxiety and, often, anger. We sometimes need to explore new ways of being to find acceptable resolutions to these deeply wounding miscommunications. Together, we can find solutions that are affirming to your life and your needs.