Therapists in Joint Base Lewis Mcchord, WA

The gift of meeting ourselves… in life, we sometimes have to endure extreme stress in difficult circumstances, and we are meant to continue to grow by making meaning and increasing the love in our lives. As an Army Veteran, I feel called to serve the veteran community, as well as others with difficult life experiences. My focus areas include trauma and PTSD, emotional imbalances, self-esteem, grief, and transitions. I draw from my spiritual path as well as personal experiences to connect deeply, and to honor each individual’s journey to healing.

As a Board Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor, I am passionate about helping women of all ages battling anxiety. Intense, stressful experiences can trigger anxiety. Unmanaged anxiety can escalate to other concerns. “Am I having a heart attack?” “Am I about to die?” or “Am I losing it?”; are common questions when you are overrun with anxiety and the body is responding in the form of panic attacks. You need to be equipped with tools to overcome the overwhelming and debilitating effects of anxiety. You need someone who will listen and who understands anxiety. Therefore, you no longer have to suffer in silence. There is hope.

Thank you for your interest. I am a retired (2001) combat veteran with twenty years of military service. My credentials/licenses are in Marriage & Family Therapy, Mental Health Counseling, and Chemical Dependency. My therapeutic approach is based on cognitive behavior research which has found a strong correlation between thoughts and behaviors. Additionally, I use the Narrative Therapy approach to understand emotions rooted in the client's life experiences that shape their strengths, fears, beliefs, values, and reactions to different types of stress.

**OFFERING FLEXIBLE ONLINE SESSIONS AND IN-PERSON EVENING, SATURDAY & SUNDAY OPENINGS** I believe there are times in a person's life when they need a trusted and confidential ally who can help a person explore the causes of his/her thoughts, feelings, or behaviors and develop new ways of thinking, acting and feeling. I am committed to helping individuals, couples and families achieve these goals in an environment that emphasizes confidentiality, respect, trust and compassion.

*Not Accepting New Clients* I am the founder of SpeakLifeHealUp Counseling Services. My therapeutic approach is centered around my belief that we deserve to be heard and understood. Reaching out for help takes incredible courage and is one of the bravest things that you can do. My passion is to empower and equip individuals and couples experiencing invisible emotional wounds to heal themselves, build better relationships while strengthening connections and navigate through life challenges. You will discover your inner worth, love and acceptance. You have the power within yourself to do the work and awaken to your best-kept self!

I understand the difficulties of meeting someone new and discussing items that may leave one feeling vulnerable.  As a therapist and especially as a person, I highly value our relationship and find this to be essential in the therapy process.  I enjoy working with individuals by building trust with me and with this process.  I also believe in creating a collaborative relationship in which I respect your needs while balancing the therapeutic interventions that I can provide. I have a long history of working with individuals who struggle with anxiety and depression, and I specialize in working with those who have experienced trauma.

*Accepting new clients* The journey to healing begins with a desire to feel better. Together, we’ll work to discover what “better” looks like and what can be done to achieve it. There are many ways life shows us we are stuck in our own story; addiction, depression, anxiety, anger and many other indicators can be present when we’re experiencing such pain. How did we get here? How do we get out? What are we holding onto? Who can we not let go?

I remember when I showed up to my first counseling appointment as a client. I was nervous, embarrassed, and feeling defeated. In that moment, my physical body carried those emotions in that it felt on edge, almost willing me to get up and leave the counseling center. I also remember the connection I made with my counselor during that first session, and how I knew that is what I needed for that season of life. I understand that for most clients, showing up to their first (or second, or fiftieth..) counseling appointment is terrifying. For many, it feels like they don’t know where else to go, what to do, or who to turn to.

I am currently Focusing on Military Veterans in my practice: We can all use a little help now and then. I bring a diverse skill set of life and counseling experience. I grew up with a tumultuous household in a small community. I joined the military at a young age and have lived and worked throughout the world. I have had my own family, raising children weathering many successes and failures in the process. I have experienced counseling as a client; my personal experience enhances my great respect for my clients' vulnerability in our sessions. I am a fellow traveler in life, as you learn and grow so do I.

As a Systemic therapist who also understands the importance of a person-centered approach, I help individuals, couples, and family’s increase awareness of current emotional, behavioral, and communicative patterns that create a barrier to personal and interpersonal growth. Recognizing the importance of culture and identity, I utilize an intersectional approach to each individual and family.

I specialize in working with adults (ages 18-60) who struggle with the effects of trauma or negative life events. These are any events where you became overwhelmed and went into survival mode to get by. Sometimes we only think that trauma means you were attacked, went to war, got shot at, lived through a natural disaster. However, I also consider things like divorce, pet loss, living on the edge of homelessness, or childhood emotional abuse or neglect as just as traumatizing. I also work with clients who experienced pet loss. Sometimes, the loss of a pet can be just as devastating as the loss of a human, if not more.