Personal Growth involves learning about ourselves, or values and goals, and living intentionally in alignment with our values and goals as best we can. Therapy doesn’t need to be limited to coping with mental health challenges. Indeed, therapy can help you improve your quality of life beyond what you may have initially thought possible. Given a sufficient amount of love and care, and water and sunlight, we continue to grow as a vast forest full of life.

Life Transitions can be due to many reasons, but regardless of the reason, humans go through various transitions across the lifespan. They can be expected or unexpected. Even expected transitions (growing up, relationship status changes, parenthood, loss, etc.) can cause distress. We can learn to adapt to a new ways of living and integrating a new identity without completely giving up what once was, unless of course it is healthier and desired to do so. Another perspective to consider: Like an ocean, we are always in transition – always moving, always changing.

My work with Relationship Challenges encompasses all things relationships – platonic friendships, intimate relationships, marriage and marital issues, separation and divorce (with and/or without children), all types of relationships, including nontraditional. The challenges themselves can range from communication, connection, sex, infidelity, etc. We can work together to try to repair or separate amicably. On the other hand, perhaps your relationship(s) is/are just fine, but you are interested in improving them – we can work with that too! Let’s build or cross that bridge together.

Trauma can affect us at any age, and its effects can challenge us for various amounts of time. We can heal some traumas quickly with little to no support. Other traumas are more deeply rooted and can affect us across our lifespan whether we are aware of its effects or not. Trauma can affect our ability to complete “normal” daily tasks, make it difficult to function at work or social events, can co-occur with anxiety, depression, substance abuse, etc. Trauma can even latch onto our very identity. It can be daunting to navigate, but I am here to walk alongside you and tread through the weeds carefully to help you live feeling safe and connected.

Grief and Loss manifests itself differently with each individual. There is no right way to grieve – everyone takes different amounts of time and ways to cope and heal. There is a difference between moving on and moving forward. Grief and loss can be messy, complicated, and entangled with all areas of our lives. Grief and loss is not just limited to losing someone (human, pet, etc.) through death; grief and loss can also apply to self-identities, friendships, relationships, anything we used to have but now don’t.

Self-Esteem can be connected personal growth if we already have at least a relatively stable positive sense of self. However, if self-esteem is low, it becomes more challenging to interact with ourselves, others, and the world in a fulfilling way, and this can hinder us in all areas of life. There is strength in all of us. There is beauty in all of us. There is much to love in all of us. The trick is to find and cherish it. The more we can learn about ourselves, have compassion for ourselves the more we can love ourselves (and others and the world).