Specialties
I engage in professional therapy with the issues listed here as well as other areas of specialty. Contact our office today at: 720-515-6385 or complete the contact form on our contact page.
Abuse
Abuse takes many forms in our lives. Abuse can be manipulated in such a way that the person receiving the abuse may not know they are being abused. The opposite is true as well, that physical violence being the most outwardly noticed and the type of abuse many think about when this word is spoken. Abuse has multiple types physical, sexual, verbal/emotional, mental/psychological, financial/economical and cultural/identity. Surviving any type of abuse speaks volumes to your perseverance and ability to overcome. Taking this step in simply reading this already shows the courage you have to live differently. I want to commend you in stepping out to rebuild your foundation of trust and safety for yourself. Living through abuse can bring about out of control chaos in life that keeps you believing that change cannot occur. Do not believe the lies abuse tells you, change, safety and health is possible. I want to walk through this journey with you to allow you to rewrite the next steps you take in freedom.
Anger
Emotions are a natural part of all human beings. We are allowed to have them, hold them, experience them and express them. Our emotions can get out of control at times and some times we deny our emotions all together. Anger is the easiest emotion to react in and with because it seems to get the quickest results in situations we face. I explore how anger can be utilized in a healthy and positive way by looking at the sources of where your anger comes from. Together we look inward of what triggers anger and how we can utilize new self-talk and scripts to speak more effectively when emotions are heightened.
Depression
Cognitive Behavioral Theorists explain depression as blaming setbacks on personal inadequacies, interpretation of the world in a negative way and looking into the future with a gloomy and negative projection. If depression is something you are experiencing you may experience a whole body oppression that never lets up. Perhaps you have set goals so unrealistic that not achieving them sends you into a deeper spiral. I explore how our brains can be re-wired over time to seek joyful moments and focus on present moments and moving through each one as it comes. Looking at the big picture all the time is overwhelming. I would be honored to break down the big picture and seek joy in the details with you.
Cognitive Behavioral Interventions for Tics
What is CBIT? The Tourette's Association of America explains this best!
CBIT is a non-medicated treatment consisting of three important components:
(a) Training the patient to be more aware of his or her tics and the urge to tic.
(b) Training patients to do competing behavior when they feel the urge to tic.
(c) Making changes to day to day activities in ways that can be helpful in reducing tics.
Many of these strategies are already commonly used in the management of TS symptoms. Many adults with TS report that they have come up with strategies similar to CBIT to manage their tics. CBIT takes the most effective concepts and blends them with strategies that aid people in learning the techniques quickly.
TS is a neurological disorder and tics are involuntary, so how can CBIT work?
There is no question that tics are neurological in nature. However, tics are often also extremely sensitive to the environment in which they occur. Every person with TS has experienced certain situations that make his or her tics worse. Similarly, most people with TS know that other situations or activities help calm their tics. CBIT attempts to help children and adults familiarize themselves and identify environmental factors that make their tics worse. CBIT also teaches skills on how to create environments that are more stable, predictable and easily manageable.
How effective is CBIT for somebody with TS?
Large, multi-site, National Institutes of Health-funded studies show that more than half of the people who undergo CBIT will have significant reductions in tic severity and improved ability to function. Complete elimination of all tics and other TS symptoms does happen occasionally in CBIT. CBIT is not a cure for TS but a tool that helps individuals better manage their tics and improves their quality of life.
Once mastered, will CBIT last a lifetime?
A recent study showed that 87% of participants who thrived with CBIT continued to do well six months after treatment. Remember CBIT is not a cure; it is a management strategy. Patients learn a set of management skills that can be applied for the rest of their lives as needed.
Addiction
Addiction comes in many forms and we can make anything we do into an addiction if what we engage in consumes daily life. Addiction typically is the outward sign that there has been something in the past that affected you and the only way to escape the situation is what you are choosing to escape with. A vicious cycle that keeps people consumed, defeated, slowly walking towards death or holding you hostage. The repeated pattern of behavior that continues negative habits and creates destruction, enables chaos, and keeps you from functioning at your best self possible. I work alongside you to explore the relationship of addiction in your life. Through this exploration we will find new ways of thinking and new ways of coping with emotions to allow yourself to feel and move through rather then run from emotions all together.
Anxiety
Anxiety can be debilitating in all areas of our lives, as well as a motivating factor in our daily lives. Anxiety can be a paralyzing, frustrating, and chaotic experience. Anxiety can be a very out-of-control feeling that can leave you very torn: torn between the human need to be connected to others and the feeling of wanting to run away and hide from all situations. . I wonder if you feel as though you have no clothes and no skin—as if people can see right inside you? Understanding how to continue to navigate your steps through the chaos is where the freedom from anxiety sets in.
Anxiety can rise up differently in daily life. As we work together we will raise awareness within you to recognize how to respond, how to manage your reactions and simply keep moving forward. A goal in all of this is truly coming to a place within yourself that create a space for you to be aware of you so you can truly step into who you are.
Trauma
A traumatic event or situation creates psychological trauma when it overwhelms the individual’s ability to cope, and leaves that person fearing death, annihilation, mutilation, or psychosis. You may feel emotionally, cognitively, and physically overwhelmed. The circumstances of the event commonly include abuse of power, betrayal of trust, entrapment, helplessness, pain, confusion, and/or loss. Trauma that we have experienced looks different and feels different for each person. Trauma can be triggered through out our daily walk or when we least expect it. I want to explore those triggers you face too see how you can respond positively rather then continue to repeat cycles of abuse to yourself.
EMDR is a psychotherapy treatment that was originally designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories. EMDR enables people to move through the symptoms and emotional distress that are a result of disturbing life events (Shapiro, 1989a, 1989b). EMDR reprocesses these life events through bi-lateral stimulation and reprocesses your traumatic event to become an event in your life versus a current emotional stresser.
Special Needs Parenting
Parenting is enough in itself. Children do not come with guided books to give us answers to all of the questions that arise through having children. Couple parenting with then an added chronic illness, disease, disorder, or diagnosis that was not part of our plan in having children. All parents need support and other parents in their lives to recognize that everyone struggles with day to day parenting issues. Parenting a child with special needs of any sort adds a level that needs added support. As a mother of a special needs child I understand the worry, fear, concern, joy, pain and so many more emotions that get wrapped into one single moment of life. The self-care that is nearly non-existent and the isolation that can some times be brought on with caring for a child.
Women's Issues
Throughout history there are so many women that lead others in strong directions of freedom, peace, love and togetherness. There also have been many figures who tear other women down and hurt others in general. All humans have a voice and women need to as well. You are enough as you are and I would love to come along beside you and hear the struggles you face. Perhaps they fall into the above areas, or perhaps they do not. Together let's explore how we can lift one another up, provide encouragement and spread love more than ugliness and hurt.
