What to Expect
in Therapy

Counseling is a process that allows folks to know themselves more fully, connect with others more deeply, and live life more authentically. It unfolds through a combination of dialogues and practical growth work. My goal as a clinician is to help you to feel comfortable, supported, and gently challenged as we explore your inner world together and work toward improved emotional health.

Therapy is most effective when you feel ready for it and you feel comfortable with your therapist. In your first few sessions, we will explore your symptoms, experiences, personal history, and your hopes for therapy.

Here are some common areas of focus in counseling:

• Managing low moods and overwhelming emotions

• Reducing anxiety

• Processing traumatic experiences

• Increasing confidence

• Changing habits or behaviors

• Being more real/authentic with yourself and others

• Developing & upholding healthy boundaries

• Solving problems at work or home

• Enhancing social & relationship skills (e.g. communication, conflict resolution, sexual intimacy)

I am a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate and Nationally Certified Counselor. I attended Wake Forest University's on-campus counseling graduate program. I have been trained in the humanistic tradition of counseling, which focuses on channeling human potential and takes a holistic view of human suffering.

I have worked as a clinician in an outpatient group practice setting as well as in integrated care at a community medical center. I am trained in EMDR therapy and am a member of the Psychoanalytic Institute of the Carolinas. I am currently working toward AASECT certification.

I have been helping folks to pay attention to their needs, accept who they are, and improve their health for over 15 years in the sexuality field. I have taught hundreds workshops about sexual health, body image, and consent at colleges across the US. I also worked with South Carolina Air Force bases to help reduce sexual assault in the military. I am the author of Sex Plus!: Learning, Loving, and Enjoying Your Body, an inclusive and comprehensive sex education text published by HarperCollins.

Trauma-informed care considers the question of what has happened to you more helpful than looking at a list of symptoms to figure out what is "wrong" with you. All of our emotions have cultural, family, and personal contexts -- and these contexts matter! In therapy we will tune in and pay attention to how your body feels and reacts to help the mind and body heal together. It is one thing to be able to assure yourself that things will be OK in your mind -- it's quite another to feel OK in your body. You may realize that a spiraling thought is not reality, and yet your heart still pounds and you cannot relax.

I offer EMDR therapy to clients who are stuck in ruminative thoughts about the past. EMDR can produce a noticeable reduction of the "fight or flight" response in 8-12 sessions. You can learn more about EMDR therapy here.

Who you are, whoever you may be, is unique and worth celebrating. My attitude toward identity and sexuality centers the values of curiosity and self acceptance. I operate from the therapeutic perspective that sexuality is diverse, messy, complex, sometimes painful, and sometimes joyful part of being a human. Not everyone is straight, cisgender, monogamous, or vanilla, and sexual development does not magically begin the moment we get married.

Like all aspects of the self, sexuality develops over time and is shaped by our biology and culture. Experiences of sexual trauma, in particular, can dramatically change the course of our relationships, self esteem, and ability to feel safe in the world -- even long after the abuse happened. While I hate that this even needs to be said, I am strongly opposed to conversion "therapies" which attempt to change somebody's gender identity or sexual orientation, as well as sex addiction therapies that require folks to disavow their sexuality entirely. In my view, these are traumatizing and unethical practices, and they can quickly cut a person off from their sense of self. Even when something is not working for us in life, denying the sexual parts of ourselves is not a path to healing.

My practice invites exploration of the sexual parts of yourself that may have been subjected to more shame, rejection, and judgment in your life -- to the extent that you wish to. Our experiences of sexuality are just one of the many bits and pieces that make us who we are.

Common sexuality topics in therapy include:

• Anxiety about sex

• Low sexual desire

• Out of control sexual behavior (sometimes called "sex addiction")

• Sexual trauma

• Sexual confidence & self esteem

• Porn addiction

• LGBTQIA+ identity

• Spiritual identity

• Infidelity and betrayal wounds

• Childfree discernment and/or motherhood

• Erectile dysfunction

• Sexual health (e.g. sexual pain, PMDD, HIV/AIDS, PCOS, vaginismus)

• Reproductive trauma (e.g. infertility, pregnancy loss, abortion)

• Polyamory and ethical non-monogamy

My practice is informed by 15 years as a sex educator and advocate. I am not a medical provider. If you are experiencing sexual dysfunction, I may refer you to a medical provider in your area to rule out physical contributors. Please feel free to reach out with any further questions or concerns.

I work with individuals age 18 and up. I do not work with couples, but you may invite your partner to individual sessions in the course of therapy. Sometimes working in depth with a separate therapist as a couple can be beneficial. With your permission, your couples' therapist and I are able to coordinate to optimize your care. I am happy to provide referrals to a high-quality couple's counselor.