Therapists in Tempe, AZ

I work with motivated individuals who have endured childhood or recent trauma who are struggling with recurring emotional pain or reliving the event and who want freedom, healing, and have the desire to feel less sensitive to the thoughts, pain or images. If you are looking for a therapist who values authenticity, creating safe therapeutic environment and focuses on processing together, helping with skill-building and while having ability to incorporate some humor along the way (when appropriate) to healing we may be a good fit. You may have tried therapy before and you are ready to see some real changes and feel different.

It is my belief that counseling is one of the most overlooked and underutilized tools to finding healing from life and gaining a clearer picture of our true selves. Having personally overcome loss and tragedy to get here, I have experienced first-hand how trained professionals can help us find our ways past such obstacles. I have worked for years as a speech therapist specializing in helping children with disabilities and different abilities to master the skills necessary to succeed. I have also served as a missionary to Kenya, and I continue to work with the disadvantaged both locally and abroad.

I strive to help families and couples to build connection and increase their understanding of one another. I seek to provide a comfortable and nonjudgmental place for people to come together and work through life’s challenges. This process includes creating goals and working collaboratively with individuals, families, and couples to meet the needs of each individual involved in therapy.

(In person and Virtual session for Arizona Residents and Virtual only for Illinois Residents) When life becomes overwhelming, I can help you and your family identify the issues that need to be addressed, create a plan, and help you learn coping strategies that will enable you to live a more fulfilling life. I firmly believe everyone has the ability to change and to make choices that will make those events more manageable. Creating a foundation of trust and caring is paramount in my counseling sessions. I strive to be direct and goal oriented with the focus of empowering individuals to make positive choices.

Beginning the process of therapy can be vulnerable. Congratulations on taking this first step! I am a Licensed Associate Counselor whose professional experience includes working with individuals experiencing depression, anxiety, trauma, relationship issues, domestic violence, and various life transitions. I believe everyone is unique and I aim to create a therapeutic space personalized for each client. I place high importance on creating a warm, empathetic, and non-judgmental environment for all.

I am a master’s level therapist working in Arizona. I am currently finishing a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling. I hope to be graduated by fall of 2022. I am trained in various techniques that help with the resolution of emotional disturbances, trauma, anxiety, and depression. I utilize empirically based interventions for treating psychological disorders in individuals, families, and couples. The empirically based interventions that I use are cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectal behavioral therapy, and rational emotive behavioral therapy.

The Arizona Psychology Clinic offers Neuropsychological and Psychological Testing Services for ADHD, Learning Disabilities, Autism, Gifted IQ, Twice Exceptional and Personality Issues. Additionally, testing for accommodations on Standardized Tests such as the SAT, ACT and GRE is also offered. Testing protocols for receiving accommodations within school and college settings are a focus of the practice as well.

Life with its transitions can be stressful and overwhelming. Even positive changes trigger distress. On this challenging path I offer my extensive training and experience to provide guidance helping you overcome obstacles to feeling better, to increase your curiosity and exploration of your self-growth, to understand yourself deeply, your relationship concerns; to make possible your working through the difficult situation. I have been successfully working with adolescents, adults, couples, and families. Together we identify long or short-term life difficulties such as helplessness, low self-esteem, relationship problems; we work them through, and increase satisfaction and meaning of life.

Do you find yourself longing for something more in life? Are you feeling disconnected or unfulfilled in your relationships? Do you find difficult emotions getting the better of you? I am here to support you!

I accept individuals for who they are and what they believe, while assisting you with the process of self-discovery, as well as teaching useful skills like mindfulness, distress tolerance, relaxation techniques, improving relationships, involving others if desired, and much more. I specialize in working with children, adolescents, and adults, on a variety of issues, including ADD/ADHD, behavioral problems, OCD, anxiety, depression, life transitions, bullying, trauma, peer relationships, parenting, attachment issues, and self-esteem issues.

I believe the therapeutic relationship can serve a healing role in a person’s life, and I do my best to create a safe space by providing a person-centered approach to meet your unique needs. I specialize in helping people strengthen the relationships in their lives. This applies to friendships, families, partnerships, and marriages. I also provide an open, compassionate and non-judgmental space for counseling people in non-traditional relationships, such as polyamorous and/or LGBTQ+ relationships.

Relationships are crucial for our survival and mental well-being. Without proper support life becomes challenging and difficult to navigate, often resulting in experiences of stress, depression, or anxiety. We may find ourselves recreating relationship dynamics that we learned in childhood; from parents, care-givers, friends, and important relationships. We may be frustrated as to why and how these patterns play out again and again throughout life, but are uncertain as to how to make changes to break the cycle.

I am an LGBTQ+ affirming clinician. I’m very proud of you for taking the first step of your healing journey! My approach is supportive and collaborative, using a trauma informed and strength based perspective in hopes of creating a safe environment that allows you to be transparent and work towards restoration. I have experience working with anxiety, depression, grief and other trauma related issues. Together we will navigate difficulties, challenges and transitions in order to help you live a more whole life.

I enjoy working with people from a variety of cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. Women's issues have been a focus for me, especially related to harassment, abuse, unhealthy relationships, domestic violence, low self-esteem, and excess stress. My work with clients who have disabilities and those who are dealing with social and work-related stigma is very important to me also. These individuals need to be heard, validated and provided with assistance in getting past anger, shame, guilt, sadness, and confusion.

I have worked with kids and their families for over 25 years. My favorite children and teens are strong willed, capable, and smart (academic and/or common sense). I see kids ranging from 3 year old to college students. Some of the most common issues that I work with are ADD/ADHD, Oppositional/Defiant, Depression, Anxiety and Bipolar Disorders. Other general issues are poor social skills, difficulty with frustration, poor communication skills and parent-child conflict. Because so many of the families that I see are struggling with how get along easily, I prefer to include parents whenever possible.