Services Offered:

Traditional Individual Therapy

I meet with adult clients on a one-on-one and in-person basis in a traditional hourly format in my office. I am located in the northeast part of Columbia, South Carolina and my suite is part of the Palmetto Endodontics building. My office waiting room is usually completely private because I share my suite with only one other psychotherapist and our hours rarely overlap. In this traditional format I use therapy approaches tailored to helping clients define, refine and reach their goals, usually on a weekly basis. This service format is covered by insurance companies and it is a popular option for clients.

Internet Based Therapy

The COVID-19 pandemic allowed many therapy clients and providers to discover that deep therapy connections and growth are available through secure online platforms. Many clients, especially those with compromised immune systems or those caring for immunocompromised loved ones, will continue with this form of therapy.  As of now, most insurance companies are still paying for telehealth services but it is unclear how long this will be a covered option.  

Intensive Therapy

Intensive therapy is a great option for clients who want to delve deeper into their problems and resolve their issues quickly.  Rather than meeting on a traditional once per week schedule, I meet with intensive therapy clients for extended sessions (four to six hours) on weekends.  This allows clients with busy schedules to truly focus on healing without the pressure of meeting daily demands of jobs, family, tasks and other responsibilities that need to be met.  This option is not covered by insurance companies.  

I help clients deal with issues like:

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) resulting from military trauma. I’ve worked with many clients whose lives have been profoundly impacted by multiple deployments, combat and/or horrors seen in the line of duty.  Often their traumatic memories are fragmented;  re-experienced in the form of flashbacks or nightmares or a general sense of hyperarousal regarding safety.  Sometimes their nervous systems seem stuck on scanning for danger and they experience irritability, difficulty sleeping and impatience with everyday situations in civilian life.  Depending on the needs and comfort of the client, I utilize a variety of treatment approaches, including but not limited to cognitive processing therapy, EMDR and DNMS, with combat-related PTSD.  

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) resulting from sexual assault. It’s long been recognized that the experience of being raped is linked with PTSD symptomatology.  Common issues include difficulties with hypervigilance, re-experiencing in the form of nightmares or flashbacks, and a curtailing of quality of life because of the need to avoid people, places or situations that remind the survivor of the rape.  Self-blame is also a perniciously common phenomenon.  The same treatment strategies used for combat related PTSD are useful with sexual-assault related PTSD.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) resulting from on-going childhood experiences of abuse, neglect, and torture. Many children are not fortunate enough to be born into safe, loving homes with emotionally competent caregivers.  The constant threat of danger from caregivers upon whom a child must depend leaves neurobiological challenges for adult clients.  Although they may intellectually understand they deserve a good life as much as anyone else does, feelings of shame, guilt, and despondency are body-based and ever-present.  Dissociation often interferes with living in the present moment and realizing you are actually safe and in control.  Treatment for PTSD resulting from childhood abuse requires a longer time frame than treatment for adult-onset PTSD.  The emphasis will be on learning to recognize healthy emotions and needs that were thwarted in early life experiences and meeting them in an adult way in current life.  Approaches of EMDR and DNMS are very helpful when addressing PTSD related to childhood abuse.  

Depression

Depression following grief. It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Depression of unknown origins. Sometimes people aren’t able to pinpoint exactly what tipped them into a state of pessimism and hopelessness.  In therapy you’ll be encouraged to explore the sources of your depression, identify what is needed to live a fuller life, and work on strategies for making it so.  

Anxiety

Some people seek treatment because they find they can never relax and trust life and relationships to work out favorably.  Their energy is spent anticipating and worrying about what might happen.  My therapy approach for people who experience general anxiety is similar to the approach I use when clients present with general depression.  We’ll explore the sources of your anxiety, process any early learning histories that left you feeling unsafe, identify what is needed for a peaceful life, and work on strategies for making that happen.

Relationship Issues

Discomfort and tension in relationships often precipitate depression and anxiety.  Difficulty recognizing your needs, asking for them assertively, and judging whether others are able to provide what’s needed for a healthy relationship are common.  We’ll explore any early learning experiences that set you up with problematic expectations of later relationships and learn more adaptive and respectful ways of finding connection while remaining true to yourself. 

Chronic Pain

Although there are physical causes of acute pain, on-going chronic pain often reflects unmet and sometimes unacknowledged emotional needs.  Because our bodies, minds and emotions are connected, when we aren’t able to meet our basic emotional needs in a direct way our bodies often develop symptoms.  In treatment for chronic pain we’ll explore what needs might underlie your chronic pain, heal emotional wounds from old experiences, identify ways you can care for and be kind to yourself now, and live a life as full as possible even with the pain of chronic medical conditions.  

Stress Reduction

When clients seek therapy for difficulty with stress, they sometimes need support and guidance for healthy lifestyle choices and ways of thinking.  If clients are unable to experience much improvement from behavioral and cognitive strategies, exploration of old wounding experiences, likely from childhood, might be necessary to identify unmet needs.  Once the unmet needs are identified clients will be encouraged to see what they can do to meet those needs now for themselves.  

Low Self-Esteem

When people don’t feel good about themselves there are at least two possible, and often overlapping, reasons why.  It may be that they are making choices that aren’t in line with their values and morals and, if so, therapy will be about clarifying values and taking steps to align life in accordance with their values.  However, it is also possible that poor self-esteem reflects the internalization of unrealistic, harsh or critical judgments from others in early life experiences.  In that case, therapy will involve identifying and resolving these wounding experiences so that clients can live a fuller, more adaptive life.  

Personal Growth

If you feel like you aren’t living your fullest, most empowered life, therapy can be a place to explore how to make the best of what’s available to you.  EMDR and DNMS are wonderfully suited to helping all of us get over wounding experiences and imagine a life without burdens that we mistakenly picked up along life’s journey.  However, it’s important to know that insurance companies require a clinical diagnosis for reimbursement so personal growth won’t necessarily be covered as a goal in and of itself.  If you are paying for therapy out-of-pocket, however, you are much less restricted in what you choose to focus on.  ​​