Clinical Mental Health Counselor

Throughout my career, I have worked with diverse populations, including individuals involved in the criminal justice system, those struggling with substance use, and adults with co-occurring disorders. My therapeutic work is centered around meeting clients where they are and building a treatment plan that fits their unique needs. I enjoy working with clients who are navigating life’s challenges, including anxiety, depression, trauma, and substance use recovery. An ideal client is someone that has decided they want to make meaningful changes in their life and is open to exploring new aspects of themselves and their past to achieve their goals. I believe a client’s experience in treatment is directly related o their willingness to take what is discussed in session and apply it to their lives outside of therapy. Goals related to improving life-balance and finding happiness, joy, and satisfaction in daily life are important aspects of treatment and ongoing care. My experience and education in addiction treatment has helped me be effective in helping people achieve long-term sobriety and overall wellness, but I can also be effective with harm-reduction, education, and understanding of the psychology of addiction. My clinical practice has also given me experience working with unresolved or prolonged grief as well as gender-identity and sexual orientation.

My person-centered approach is designed to help clients feel understood, supported, and empowered to make positive, lasting changes. I have extensive experience using cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and mindfulness strategies to help clients achieve a sense of life-balance. In addition, my education and experience working with addiction and recovery have allowed me to help a wide variety of clients from all aspects of life work through their addiction issues. Whether a client wants to pursue a harm-reduction approach to reduce or manage addictive behavior or pursue long-term recovery, I can help them achieve those goals. I also provided behavioral and substance use treatment within the Massachusetts Department of Corrections for over 12 years, giving me an understanding of the issues and trauma that can come from incarceration for those that have experienced it directly or vicariously as family members and friends.

Building rapport and establishing trust in a therapeutic relationship is essential. I work to achieve this by being authentic, approachable, non-judgmental, and by using appropriate humor. My goal is to make sessions enjoyable and something to look forward to while also being able to do the hard work necessary to achieve long-term change. I believe I can be helpful to anyone seeking a way to manage whatever challenges life has presented.

I have experienced the benefits of counseling myself and much of what I do and why I chose to enter this field is because I know how beneficial a good therapeutic relationship can be. Growing up in a family with substance use issues and environmental trauma made me want to pursue work in this field at a young age. However, not having been a great student in high school, I did not think it was achievable for me to pursue the education necessary. It was only after working in the field of human services and addiction treatment for almost 10 years that I finally decided to take another shot at school, where I discovered that I was an excellent student. I worked to complete my undergraduate degree while working full-time for over 10 more years. Once I graduated in 2020 and completed the requirements for my initial licensure as a licensed alcohol and drug counselor II later that year, I decided to pursue my graduate degree full-time. This non-traditional educational experience allowed me to gain valuable experience working in the field while also supplementing my work with continued education. While I could have likely completed my education many years ago had I tried, I firmly believe the path I chose was the right one for me and I would not go back and change anything.