Why This Specialty Exists

Our brains are designed to protect us.

When life includes chronic stress, difficult relationships, trauma, addiction in the family, caregiving, or unpredictable environments, our nervous system learns ways to survive.

Hypervigilance, perfectionism, emotional shutdown, people-pleasing, irritability, anxiety, or anger often begin as protective adaptations.

The problem is that what once helped you survive may continue long after the original danger has passed.
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Therapy helps you understand these patterns with compassion while developing healthier responses that reduce distress without judging yourself for how you learned to cope.

Is This a Good Fit?

I help adults understand why they react the way they do so they can replace survival-based patterns with healthier ways of responding to stress, relationships, and everyday life.
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Many people come to therapy believing they are "too anxious," "too angry," or "too emotional." Often these reactions developed for good reasons. Therapy helps you understand those patterns while learning new ways to respond that better fit your life today.

✓ Strong Fit Contexts

  • Constantly feel on edge or unable to relax.

  • Become overwhelmed by situations that seem manageable to others.

  • Notice your anger escalates faster than you would like.

  • Struggle with chronic worry, perfectionism, or overthinking.

  • Have difficulty trusting others or feeling emotionally safe.

  • Feel responsible for managing everyone else's emotions.

  • Experience guilt when prioritizing your own needs.
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  • Want to understand why you react the way you do rather than simply suppress symptoms.

✗ Not the Right Fit

  • Require emergency psychiatric services

  • Need inpatient psychiatric care or crisis stabilization

  • Need psychological testing or forensic evaluations.

  • Are seeking medication management without therapy.​
​If a higher level of care is appropriate, I can help identify resources that better meet your current needs.

You Might Relate If...

→You replay conversations for hours afterward.

→You expect the worst even when things are going well.

→Small situations trigger bigger emotional reactions than you intend.

→You are exhausted from always being prepared for the next situation.

→You have difficulty relaxing because part of you always feels "on duty."

→You feel guilty saying NO even when you are overwhelmed.
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Credentials & Experience

I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) with experience helping adults understand anxiety, anger, and emotional overwhelm through the lens of adaptive survival responses. My work focuses on helping clients recognize the patterns that developed during prolonged stress or difficult life experiences while building healthier ways of responding in the present.
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This page is specifically intended for adults seeking outpatient psychotherapy. It is not intended to provide crisis intervention, emergency psychiatric services, or psychological evaluations.

Therapeutic Approach & Style

How I Work

Clients often describe my approach as compassionate, collaborative, and grounded in understanding how life experiences shape emotional responses.
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​Together we identify the patterns your nervous system learned over time while building healthier ways to manage emotions, improve relationships, reduce anxiety, and respond more intentionally rather than automatically.

Evidence-based Tools

I use practical, evidence-based tools to help clients manage anxiety, anger, emotional overwhelm, set and maintain boundaries, and respond more intentionally rather than automatically.

Depending on your goals, I may incorporate these approaches:
CBT
DBT
Gestalt
Mindfulness

Strong Match Indicators

People who work well with me often:
✓    You want insight and practical tools.
✓    You are curious about understanding your emotional patterns.
✓    You value compassionate accountability.
✓    You are willing to practice new skills between sessions. 
✓    You prefer therapy that explores both root causes and present-day solutions.
✓    You want recovery to become part of a meaningful life rather than simply avoiding relapse.

What Progress Looks Like

While every person's situation is different, clients often notice progress when they:
→   Feel calmer in situations that previously felt overwhelming.
→   Respond thoughtfully instead of automatically.
→   Experience less guilt and self-criticism.
→   Develop healthier boundaries.
→   Feel safer in relationships.
→   Understand their emotional responses with greater compassion.
→   Build confidence managing stress without feeling constantly overwhelmed.

Summary

Your anxiety or anger is not a character flaw. It may be a survival strategy that developed during difficult experiences. Together we work to understand those patterns, reduce emotional overwhelm, and build healthier ways of responding to life's challenges.
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Services are provided through secure telehealth for adults located in Florida.​

Next Step

If you feel emotionally exhausted from living in survival mode, I invite you to schedule a consultation to see whether this approach is the right fit for you.