Therapists in Annandale, VA

If you are struggling with anxiety, compulsive behavior, wish to overcome the consequences of traumatic experiences, or feel stuck in your life journey, I invite you to contact me. As a therapist, I strive to provide a non-judgmental and supportive environment for individuals to gain greater self-awareness and self-regulation. In our work together, we will hold space for difficult emotions, identify patterns that have helped you in the past and may not be serving you now, and develop new skills so that you are able to gently move toward living a more fulfilling life aligned with your values.

The focus of my work with clients is re-tuning one's somatic, relational, behavioral and cognitive patterns to health. Adverse childhood and life experiences often create survival strategies that keep us isolated from others, disconnected from our own feelings, frustrated and hopeless. I combine Somatic Experiencing approach, trauma expertise, Depth and psychoanalytic perspectives to help clients connect to their authentic selves and embrace a journey toward healing.

I strive to help people manage distressing emotions so that they can live a fuller life. I am committed to providing quality mental health care in individual, family, and group settings. As a PhD-level anthropologist, I strive to learn as much as I can about your culture and worldview in order to tailor my therapeutic approach to your values, needs, and goals. I have effectively utilized cognitive behavioral, psychodynamic, play- and art-based, and trauma-informed approaches to support individuals living with a variety of conditions and problems, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

I provide therapy for teens and adults dealing with depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and trauma. If you feel like you are white-knuckling your way through life, you don't need more willpower- you need support that will help you build emotional and mental tools to handle life’s challenges. Are you pretending everything is alright, but you are falling apart inside? You are probably noticing how this is affecting all areas of your life, your health, and your relationships suffer. You may be wondering if life can be any different. If you feel like you can’t get away from feelings of anxiety, guilt and shame-there is hope.

Since youth, I wondered about human behavior and why people do what they do. To explore this interest further I took a class in comparative behavior and loved it. Since then I looked for opportunities to learn more about people, their actions, and their feelings while trying to find ways to help them improve their lives and feel better. I am lucky enough to be trained in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. I used this advanced therapy process in California at the Anne Sippi Clinics in the service of those suffering severe adult psychopathology (mental health issues) early on in his career.