Welcome, Brave One!
Coming to therapy can be a challenging experience, and it can also be deeply life-enriching. No matter your particular struggles, pain, or goals, there is hope—and perhaps that hope begins with you reading these words.
Encounter Therapy was born out of a passion to offer an authentic relational experience. The name reflects my deeply held belief that we are shaped in relationship—we are formed and, at times, harmed in relationship—and we can also be healed within a relational encounter. Through an authentic and attuned therapeutic relationship, it is my intention to create a safe space grounded in nonjudgment, respect, and care, where you can explore aspects of yourself that may not yet be fully known and begin to live with a greater sense of choice and possibility.
My hope is that you will discover your mind, your voice, and learn to use both with kindness and compassion toward yourself and in your relationships. We are all, in many ways, living out the stories and narratives we have been taught. The therapeutic process can help you understand the patterns and narratives shaping your life, and support you in choosing how you want to show up in the world—rather than remaining limited by how you were taught to show up.
I believe psychotherapy is most effective when sessions are consistent and regularly scheduled. I typically begin by seeing clients on a weekly basis.
“People come to therapy not to fix what is broken, but to have what is broken blessed.” James Hillman
“Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.”
―Thich Nhat Hanh
Becoming yourself is learning how to show up in the world the way you want to show up rather than how you were taught to show up. - Marjorie Caico-Long
“ I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence but it comes from within, it is there all the time” -Anna Freud
“what is the greatest lesson a woman should learn
that since day one
she's already had everything she needs within herself
it's the world that convinced her she did not”
- Rupi Kaur
“Ogni mali nun veni pri nòciri.” “Not every pain comes to harm you”
- Sicilian proverb
If you are experiencing suicidal or homicidal intent or ideation please call 911 or the crisis center at 1-800-273-8255.
Sacred Circles
Mother & Child by Ben Blackburn-
Your sacred space is where you find yourself again and again.
This is a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be. This is the place of creative incubation. At first you might find that nothing happens there. But if you have a sacred place and use it, something eventually will happen.
Your sacred space is where you find yourself again and again.
The commitment to encounter is a commitment to life.
(Goizueta, 2010)
It is vital the therapist you choose is someone that you feel a connection with and believe you could learn to trust. Please take some time to read through my website and if you find my words speak to you, please contact me to set up an initial appointment where we can explore the possibility of working together. I am happy to provide a free 30-Minute in-person consultation to help us determine if we are a good fit for one another.
Solstice Prayer
Take this well of grief
And fill it with gold
Take this darkness
And flame it to shattering light
I honor the darkness
These lessons of the cold alone
And trust the balance even here–
The darkness, within and without;
The light, distant as the moon,
The light, as close as breath.
-Current Psychotherapy Patient
