I believe my family and upbringing guided me into choosing social work and therapy as my career. My father came from a generation where mental health was less normalized than today and went undiagnosed with a clinical mental health disorder for a long time. My uncle who is also a big part of my close, primary family requires daily supports due to difficulty with daily living skills. My grandmother was his caregiver and my mother has now taken over that duty. Myself and my two siblings assist with my uncle's care in different ways. As I began to emerge into an adult, I saw how important support was. I was also able to see how therapy can benefit many persons that struggle with everyday stress, communication, setting boundaries, self esteem, sleep disturbances, relationships with family/friends/partners, anxieties, grief, loss, change, anger, frustrations, irritability, conflict, personal repetitive patterns, negative thoughts, and support/self-care. In choosing this as a career, I continue to learn and apply skills that I assist persons with in therapeutic services for personal growth and creating the life that I desire.

I feel like I work well with most clients.

I wish clients knew that therapy is not all about mental health diagnoses, stigmatizing, or labeling anyone. I wish they knew that many people can benefit greatly from therapeutic services, as therapist address struggles, obstacles, and symptoms, to name a few. Mental Health, how you feel, and your thoughts are just as important to your health as any other medical diagnoses, problems, or issues; it's just as important as exercise, nutrition/food, and overall wellness.

I chose to practice at Thriveworks due to their flexible scheduling, which I feel helps to meet clients' needs on a personal level. This allow clients to choose a time for self-care and addressing their needs through therapeutic services when they are not rushed and can sit down to be present for the actual service. Thriveworks has great values as a company.

A first session could include all of the following: getting to know each other, getting to know expectations from therapist, clinic, and client(s), getting feedback at the end of session to ensure concerns/issues were actually addressed, assessment which is a series of questions to help gather background information to inform therapeutic services, and awareness of rights/HIPPA/ and other clinic information needed to have successful therapeutic services.

In the first session, generally myself and client(s) will get to know each other and address any questions/concerns they might have. If the session is to include assessment, then questions will be asked, but we can go at the pace of the client(s) and can always go back to address questions they might feel are too personal to address at first. However, the more information gathered in the beginning and during the assessment the better I can assist. Overall, I hope all clients leave the first session feeling some sense of relief in knowing that they now have made the first step in addressing their needs.

Clients should know that I am there to help and assist them; they should know that there is no pressure or need to feel nervous. I am a person with struggles just as anyone else.

In my time off I enjoy being with family, friends, and loved ones. I also enjoy my two cats that I consider to be the best therapists anyone could ask for. For fun, I enjoy learning about new things, making jewelry, drawing, photography, gardening, and being outdoors. I love traveling when able.

Integrity.