I’m a licensed counselor with a private practice in Lafayette, CO (near Boulder and Denver).  I believe in the therapeutic process.  I believe that change is possible.  My focus as a therapist is to uncover the underlying causes of ineffective behaviors and attitudes, empower my clients to heal, and equip them with healthier ways of relating to themselves and the world around them.  So much of who we are as adults is affected by what we had to do as children to get the love and acceptance we needed to survive.  In a healthy family unit, a child is provided with unconditional love and acceptance.  The environment is warm, truthful and encouraging.  The problem is that most of us didn’t get that.  Maybe bits and pieces, but our parents or caregivers were imperfect and couldn’t possibly give us everything we needed just as we needed it.  So we learned to hide parts of ourselves that we thought (most likely at the subconscious level) were unacceptable.  Maybe we heard the negative verdict about those parts directly or maybe we interpreted  the information that way with our young minds.  It doesn’t take a major event or abuse to cause a child to put a part of herself into hiding.
Many of us are walking around with unhealthy beliefs about ourselves and others.  Those unhealthy beliefs get in the way of living in freedom.  Do you ever feel stuck?  You just keep doing the same things in relationships and can’t figure out how to change?  That’s where therapy comes in.  Once we figure out the wound that you are dealing with, we work to create healing opportunities.  Believe it or not often all we really need is for someone to know everything about us and stay.  That’s what I do.  I stay.  I hear what you really think and feel and I don’t leave.  I encourage you to find safe people who can do the same:  know everything about you and stay.
We work on changing some of the false beliefs you have about yourself with the truth.  We are all created with purpose.  Not one of us is an accident.  Each of us brought joy to our Creator the moment we came into existence.  Before we did one thing we were loved.  The doing part of our life doesn’t change the amount of love God has for us, not any less and not any more.
Skill building is another facet to changing unwanted behaviors and attitudes.  We work on that, too.  Sometimes we have to rewire the way we handle certain situations or triggers.  It can take a lot of time and be quite frustrating, but in the end, it is worth it when you see yourself living life the way it was intended: in freedom.  No baggage, no shame, no burdens pulling you down.
I share my thoughts and views about life and counseling in this blog.  This blog is not intended to replace therapy.  Please find a good therapist if you need one, don’t rely on my written word to bring about the changes you seek.  A few places to start are PsychologyToday.com and Theravive.com.  They are sites that list thousands of therapists around the US.
Some information about my training:  I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, a Master of Science in Counseling and I am a Licensed Professional Counselor.  I have received additional training in EMDR, DBT, The Hendricks Institute Foundations Seminar, Gottman Method Couples’ Therapy and Shadow Work Basic Facilitator Training.  In addition, I attended the Cloud and Townsend Ultimate Leadership Intensive and One Week Intensive for Counselors.  I am currently attending the Counselor Training Program, a one year training with John Townsend. ( www.cloudandtownsend.com)