Therapy Services (for Adults 18+)
As a young, middle-aged, or older adult, you may want to process how your past is affecting you and create a future that feels true to you. Many clients come to therapy for support in getting “unstuck,” so they can make choices and live life on their terms. Therapy offers you the space to focus on your emotional wellness, without guilt or shame.
What types of therapy are available?
I tailor my approach to each client, including one or more of the following approaches:
Talk therapy: We discuss your thoughts, feelings, emotions and experiences. We also practice coping skills, communication skills, and incorporate any other needed resources.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy: This type of therapy helps you identify, reprocess and resolve traumatic and stressful memories; and plan for present and future scenarios.
Expressive activities: Art, writing, music and play can help explore emotions and facilitate healing in a relaxed setting.
How does therapy work?
Our sessions will start by getting to know each other and talking about your background. I’ll ask you to share your goals for therapy, so we can focus on what matters most to you. We’ll create a plan for these goals, which we can review and adjust over time. Therapy is a collaboration.
We can schedule weekly or biweekly sessions, either over video call or in my Melbourne office. When you feel ready to end therapy, we will create a plan for how you can maintain and continue building on your progress in the future.
What can I gain from therapy?
I’m here to support you as you navigate:
Identifying, reprocessing, and resolving traumatic memories
Feeling safe as you explore and decide on your personal beliefs and values
Creating and maintaining emotional wellness in your daily life
Working toward a mutually respectful and supportive relationship with your partner(s)
Making trustworthy, healthy friendships
Setting and maintaining healthy boundaries in your relationships and workplace
Learning healthy conflict resolution and communication skills
Reflecting on intergenerational family patterns and choosing what to leave behind, and what to carry forward
Gaining awareness into your personal strengths
It’s possible to create a life that feels good for you—and like something you chose, rather than something scripted for you. My goal is that you start to see yourself in a new light, as you gradually feel more confident and competent in your daily life.
For Young Adults from High-Control Backgrounds
I also specialize in working with young adults who grew up in high-control religious and/or homeschooling environments. Spending our early years in these settings can profoundly affect our sense of self and our relationships with others. The reason I became a therapist is wanting to support others from this shared life background.
Therapy may be helpful for you if you relate to one or more of these experiences:
Having traumatic and hurtful memories from your family and/or religious backgrounds
Growing up in environments where your emotions were invalidated or shamed
Questioning your own memory, perceptions or judgment because of being “gaslit” by family members or partner(s)
Feeling “different” from those around you because of your homeschooling experience
Struggling with dating due to having internalized beliefs from “purity culture” in evangelical Christianity
Having anxious and people-pleasing tendencies because you were a perfectionist or the “poster child” for your family, school, or religion
Acting or feeling like you were “parentified” (overly responsible for your siblings) throughout your childhood
These experiences are more common than most people realize. But they can cause unique challenges in your life. It’s important to find a therapist who understands what you’ve been through and has the education and experience to help you address it.
Young adults from similar backgrounds have shared various reasons they hesitated to go to therapy, including that they:
Were afraid that nobody would understand their upbringing
Had received “counseling” from pastors and other religious leaders who had no training in mental health
Were worried that the therapist would tell them to have more faith, instead of helping them process their trauma
Were afraid the therapist would tell them to leave their faith as a whole
Felt like they were betraying their family by sharing about their childhood experiences