Sex Therapists in 50309

I believe you are the expert on your own life. You know your concerns, your fears, your struggles, and your story better than anyone else. As a counselor, my goal is to create a safe, affirming space in which you can explore your stressors, your identities, your relationships, or anything else you feel is significant to your life and your story. I will meet you where you are and accept you for who you are. I want therapy to be a collaborative process. Together, we will work to identify and address your concerns while also building upon and, hopefully, enriching your life story.

Counseling is an opportunity for us to strengthen connection with ourselves and others, while moving forward in life with greater satisfaction. Every hurt, hope, struggle and triumph is welcome here, as we work together to discover strength, wisdom, and direction through even life’s most difficult experiences. Each of us carries our own unique perspective and challenges — I tailor my approach to meet every client where they at without judgment.

I am an Iowa, California & Arizona licensed marriage and family therapist (IA 126195, CA 86294, AZ 15639). I am native Iowan relocated to the West Coast with nearly two decades of experience helping those who are grieving and more than a decade practicing as a therapist. I specialize in working with couples & individuals navigating life-altering medical conditions; women overwhelmed in the face of work, family & personal pressure; and couples struggling to create or restore fulfilling connection.

For 30 years I have helped couples and individuals to create a satisfying, loving, conflict-free life by overcoming past or present obstacles. Everyone deserves to be happy and free of emotional pain. I believe empowering people to take charge of their life is liberating. I use a wide variety of counseling approaches customized to fit the individual. These include expressing emotion, identifying helpful and dysfunctional thinking/beliefs and changing behavior or developing strategies to create success. I am an open-minded therapist accepting the diversity of client lifestyle and gender.

I am an emotion focused and cognitive behavioral therapist that incorporates a systemic, relational perspective to my work. I am passionate about helping individuals and couples create the relationship they desire, providing families with the tools necessary to create meaningful relationships, and assisting those in need of support and counsel with a variety of mental health issues. I use 28 years of marital and family counseling experience to provide therapy in the areas of marital therapy, affair reconciliation, divorce adjustment, sexual & drug addictions, depression, and anxiety.

Stress comes in many forms in our daily lives. When we get bogged down with memories from our past, or worries about our future, we become unable to fully participate in the present. My goal is to empower you to live as your most authentic self by creating a collaborative therapeutic atmosphere where you are the expert on your own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. I utilize a cognitive-behavioral, strength-based, and solution-focused approach to help you explore and identify what's working, what you would like to change, and potential strategies to achieve your goals.

We all need help sometimes, and it is important that we talk to someone who is able to spend time with us and be able to provide the right and compassionate response. We can talk to friends and family, but at times, the responses we receive might not be what we are expecting: "You are too hard on yourself, or I do not have time for you right now," etc. It is also possible that friends and family have their own lives to juggle, and talking to them about our personal struggles might put a burden on them. Talking to a licensed therapist means that you are setting healthy boundaries and, protecting your privacy.

Sometimes we might feel like nobody understands us or what we are going through. Life can present some major challenges, and it is hard to be trapped in what seems like an inescapable situation. I know what it is like to feel stuck. These types of situations are numerous: problems communicating with a partner, having low motivation in a job, missing a loved one that you have lost, paralyzing anxiety about making an important decision. Seeking the help of a mental health professional is the first step in getting unstuck. There is great courage in being able to ask for help. I am glad that you are embarking on this journey.

I believe that the therapeutic process begins with building a trusting relationship while providing a safe and non judgmental space to share life challenges and stressors. I provide services with a high degree of empathy in a manner that is very down to earth and authentic. I utilize an individualized, holistic, client centered approach that is tailored to meet your unique needs.