Welcome.

I offer relational therapy for people who are passionate, curious, idealistic, intense, and bright -- often called “gifted," though it can feel like anything but a gift. I can also offer insights into the realities of the gifted experience and help you better appreciate the ways giftedness manifests in your self. Often (re)discovering the lens of giftedness can launch a journey to re-examine your history, and to author a new story for yourself.

Popular perception of giftedness focuses on high intellectual ability, but giftedness encompasses many other qualities, such as high levels of empathy, sensitivity, intensity, insight, perfectionism, and the varieties of intelligence: intellectual, emotional, creative, sensual, physical, and existential. Gifted individuals often face unique challenges such as high levels of self-criticism, existential depression (struggling with the meaning of life), and difficulty in finding peers. In addition, gifted individuals are often poorly misunderstood and misdiagnosed by mental health professionals who are unaware of the concept of giftedness.

Do you only work with “gifted” people? I didn’t do well in school.

My interest is in working with people who resonate with the experiential qualities of giftedness, whether or not you are formally identified as “gifted” or are even interested in that label.

Giftedness has very little to do with your performance in school and life, despite our cultural narratives about child geniuses. The notion of giftedness has at times been misused to reinforce the power of socially dominant groups; for example, there are huge racial disparities in referrals to gifted programs at schools, which results in Black students being 66% less likely to be referred than white students. There are also many twice exceptional and multiexceptional people who are gifted as well as autistic, or who have sensory processing disorder, ADHD, OCD, or any number of combinations of neurological differences. Often one of these differences is more recognized than others, so that one may be identified as gifted but overlooked as having ADHD, or vice versa.

I have worked extensively with LGBTQ and gender creative clients, and working in these communities is especially dear to me. Adolescents are another (wildly diverse!) group that I am passionate about working with. I am comfortable with minority spiritual paths and views.

My work has allowed me to collaborate with a diverse range of clients, in race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability, and age. I feel honored by all of the clients who have chosen to share a part of their journey with me.

What is your style of working with clients?

I am firmly rooted in a relational stance with my clients, which means that I believe that the relationship we develop while working together is the most important element of therapy. It will allow us to understand how you both relate to others as well as all of the parts of your self.

The initial stage of therapy will be primarily focused on us getting to know each other. As a trauma-informed clinician, I want my client to take the lead in determining when you are comfortable sharing your thoughts, experiences, and aspects of self; trust takes time to develop, and I do not push anyone to reveal things before they are ready to do so. I respect the innate wisdom of each client and hold a harm reduction stance, in which I honor the coping mechanisms that have helped you on your journey, even if these coping mechanisms are ultimately not in your best interest and you are ready to let them go.

I am trained in attachment-focused EMDR, which helps resolve traumatic experiences by reprocessing memories on a nervous system level. Often trauma occurs when an experience becomes “stuck” in the limbic system, where our “fight/flight/fawn/freeze” response is activated. We may know something to be cognitively true but at the same time respond as if it were not, which can be a source of huge frustration. Working with the layers of the nervous system can be more helpful than solely focusing on cognitive “talk” therapy. This is a short video that gives a good introduction to EMDR.

While the work we do in therapy is largely internal, I am also keenly aware of the ways in which our various identities shape how we move through the world and how we are treated by other people. I do not see these as “political” issues outside of the therapy room; rather, they are a vital part of our experience and I encourage exploration of these larger issues in therapy. I am also aware of the power differential in our culture between provider and client, and strive to dismantle this by developing a collaborative relationship with the clients I work with.

As someone who works with neurodivergent clients I strive to make my practice accessible to each client’s unique needs. I understand and am comfortable with clients who consistently run late (time blindness is real!) and clients who want minimal eye contact or no eye contact at all. I am adept at navigating tangents. I try to name usually unspoken expectations and norms in therapy, and welcome clarifying questions to help put you at ease.

How long will therapy take?

Each person’s journey is unique. Some clients will find what they need in working with me for a few months, while others may work with me for years. I both solicit and welcome feedback from clients about how therapy is working for you.

Do you work with children? Do you do couples’ therapy?

I am only accepting adult clients at this point.

I do not offer couples’ therapy.

I am happy to offer referrals if you need help finding a better fit.