Therapists in Kalispell, MT

“We all need to be seen and honored in the same way that we all need to breathe.” - Brené Brown. My primary focus in the room is to make you feel seen and honored. I approach counseling from a relational perspective; our therapeutic relationship is the most important thing to create. When you can feel safe, trusting, seen, and honored, healing and change can begin.

Are you experiencing difficulties in life and feeling frustrated or overwhelmed? Therapy can be a journey of discovery and change which results in experiencing a better life. My goal is to assist the client and their family with this journey and implement strategies for lifelong positive enhancement. I use uses a variety of theoretical perspectives and integrated approaches to tailor individual, family, and group therapy sessions. I have extensive experience with autism, PTSD, and trauma in conjunction with addictions and concurring mental disorders. Currently, I offer telehealth in Colorado and Texas and accepted insurance below.

Our focus is to see you, hear you, understand your heart and goals and help you to organize your life to make the changes needed to attain those goals.

I approach every client with concern for immediate difficulties and symptoms, but also believe that one of the central tasks of therapy is to gain self knowledge and understanding. Other important therapeutic outcomes might include acknowledging emotion, understanding avoidance, and identifying behavioral and relationship patterns. Research studies consistently demonstrate that focusing on relationships (past and present) increases the likelihood that therapeutic work will be effective.

People often seek therapy when they feel like everything they've tried isn't working. Therapy can help you learn healthy ways to cope with life's challenges. I work with clients suffering from a wide range of stressors including anxiety, depression, grief, loss, and trauma.

My area of focus and specialty has been with preteens and adolescents. Through working with teens I inevitably work with their parents and I'm comfortable working with adults as well on their own issues. I can also be a guiding hand to help them improve their parenting skills with a Love and Logic approach. I'm experienced with complicated family systems and truly believe that creating change for a teen requires work from the entire family to help support that change. Teens are malleable and are very capable of change if given the proper support.

We all encounter moments in life that can create a ripple effect in the way we view and treat ourselves. These moments may exacerbate symptoms we would normally be able to manage or they may be the catalyst for something we have never experienced. The coping mechanisms we have used to survive in the past do not define us, and with the support of a good team, we can begin to learn new skills to help move us forward. Finding the right person to talk to can be a first step in finding a path to (re)discovering a more regulated and integrated self.

I work with children, teens and adults across the lifespan providing individual, couples and family therapy, psychological assessment and consultation. My overall mission is to help clients to 1) understand, articulate, and negotiate their particular challenges such that they can cope and overcome; and 2) identify and achieve their personal goals and live congruently with their values and aspirations. I have worked in private, school and medical settings in urban and rural parts of the country including Los Angeles, Chicago, Arizona and Indiana. I am happy to offer services in my new adopted home, Northwest Montana.

You may be saying to yourself: "I feel stuck. I feel disengaged. The problems seem insurmountable. When I attempt conversation about difficult issues they invariably turn to gridlock. Hurtful words are used by both of us. Withdrawal, isolation and silence follow. It seems we have a crisis over something. Then we have a brief honeymoon followed by a period of tension leading to another explosion. Seems like it never ends. Seems my efforts to engage are met with distancing by my spouse. I feel more and more disconnected, more helpless and hopeless about this relationship."

Often times in life we are faced with difficulties, trauma, and life transitions that can be painful, overwhelming, confusing, and frightening. During these times, we can also feel depressed, angry, anxious, and struggle with day to day life. We may find that we are triggered by stress, conflict, and old wounds may reopen and even deepen. Reliving intrusive and painful memories may cause us to distance ourselves from others. Further, it can be agonizing trying to navigate through these difficulties and times. We may feel alone or that we have no one to talk to that we can trust. We may find that our normal supports are not enough.

Now Accepting New Clients. My experience is working with women who struggle with anxiety, trauma, emotional regulation, and low self-compassion. My target population are women who are often the “do it allers,” but leave little room to care and nurture themselves. I am a strong believer in the importance of resilience that is gained through lived experience, including trauma. However, constantly living with this protective armor, necessary when living in survival mode, often prevents us from living into who we truly are.

I do this work because I enjoy getting to know you as you learn about yourself. At the end of the day, you know yourself better than I ever will. It isn't my job to fix anybody and we're all fallible humans anyways. My job is to be there with you and support you in moving towards your goals, whatever those may be. My goal is to create a safe space for talking about difficult things.

At some point in our life, we all face the unexpected, whether it be the loss of someone important, a job, financial struggles, pain and sickness, or any of the other things life throws our way. It is helpful to have someone to talk to and offer a listening ear and perhaps some different perspective during those times. I hope to provide those things to my clients, as well as utilizing my experience and training to help others through the tough times. 2 Corinthians 1:4

You wish that thing that happened when you were a child/soldier/first responder/partner/friend would stop creating problems in your “now,” but it won't. You know trauma, shame, anxiety, addiction, guilt, and depression suck because one or more of these open, infected, invisible wounds are your constant, unwanted companions. They get in the way of the life you want for you and those you love. I create and guard the safe, supportive, judgement-free space where you can say anything...and be accepted. Discuss and make any decision....and be supported. You & this Preacher’s Kid/Actor/Homeless/Soldier/Veteran/Businessman...now Therapist.

Accepting new clients now! There are many times that life will knock you down, sometimes for a while; sometimes, longer than you would like to stay down. I am of the belief that we all have inner strength that we can pull from, especially when we are feeling beat up by what happens to us.

Are you at a place in your life where you feel overwhelmed, unmotivated or just wondering what's happening to you or your relationship? Do you have personal, relationship, work or life transitions that feel overwhelming and are having difficulty resolving? I provide a safe, supportive, non judgmental environment to assist you in resolving these issues. I specialize in working with adolescents, adults, couples and families in a variety of areas including; trauma, grief, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, insomnia, anger management and LGBTQIA issues. My goal is to provide you the tools and support needed to reach your goal.