In the Fall of 2010, my life was right on track. I was completing a Masters in counseling psychology and enjoying the freedom of climbing mountains. One faithful Sunday at Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, brought life as I knew it to a screeching halt. On a routine fall (yes, rock climbing includes lots of falling which is usually quite safe), I felt something snag my hand. When I glanced down, the shock of a horrific injury gripped me. I lost much of the function of my right hand that day and feared that climbing, something that I loved as much as any other part of my life, might be gone forever. Four surgeries and months of physical therapy eventually led to my return to climbing. I knew things would never be the same, and that was okay. Why am I telling you this and what does it have to do with mental health/wellness? As I learned to cope with my new reality, I adapted to understand how my body could actually work just as efficiently as before, and in some ways, better. Less than 2 years after that fateful day, I climbed the hardest route of my life.
Much in the same way I learned that my body could adapt to what I required from it, I have found through my studies and clinical work that the brain is capable of achieving similar results with regards to executive functioning.
Executive functioning refers to a set of skills that enable a person to plan, focus, remember and manage their lives.
My passion and focus is working with clients with ADHD. My goal is to assist and support those clients to reach remarkable new levels of performance at home, work or school. This topic is very close to home for me because I have been coping with ADHD my entire life. ADHD is a “doing” problem, not a “knowing” problem. Which is to say: most individuals struggling with this diagnosis do not need to be told what to do, they simply need a conceptual framework to approach life that will prioritizes the release of creative energy. Working through a strengths-based model, we will collaboratively identify what you do well and build upon it. Our holistic focus will result in translatable progress in every area of your life.
I am an adamant believer in the power of the human body to both adapt and heal itself when given the right nurturing and guidance. I went on to study family systems therapy as well as trauma-informed counseling before deciding to return to school again to become a medical provider.
As a psychiatric provider and mental health therapist, I’m able to combine the best of both worlds. I am not a believer that you should be using psychiatric services forever, but that it can be a very helpful tool to bridge you from struggling to thriving.
We will work closely together and, unlike other psychiatric providers, I don’t believe in 10- to 15-minute check-ins. You can rest assured that you will always receive quality, attentive psychiatric care where we incorporate trauma-informed therapy tools into our session so that you can live your life to the best of your ability.
During our first meeting, we will use our full hour to discuss history, prior experiences, both good and bad, and get a good understanding of a team approach that works for you, without pushing psychiatric services and, instead, listening to what YOU know works for YOU.
Follow-up appointments will always be at least 30 minutes in nature so that we can work together to ensure that you’re getting the best quality care.
