CORE VALUES

Fluidity: The person you were yesterday is not the same person you are today, and the person today is not the same as tomorrow. We are constantly changing and evolving and growing, and this is one of the things that makes people so incredible. You are amazing and you do not fit into the box that others have provided you. And I want to help you understand that this is not a deficit.

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Humor: It’s like they say, humor is the best medicine. Humor allows a light-heartedness, allows laughter, allows us to take even a momentary break from the discomfort. I do not advocate humor that tears people down or mocks those who are in pain. That is simply meanness masquerading as humor. True humor comes from a place of love and of wanting to provide relief to another person. It should also only be wielded responsibly, and never continued when the recipient is not in a place of receiving.

Empowerment: We all have within us a spark of something amazing. What that looks like can vary – for some of us that may mean fighting through the generations of systemic oppression and trauma and changing these cycles for ourselves and our children. For others this may mean simply living a life that brings us pride and joy. For me, therapy is centered around empowerment. I want to help you work to getting as close as you can to your goals, and that starts with me believing in you until you’re ready to believe in yourself.

Compassion: We are all fighting different battles within the same war. Life is painful and difficult and wonderful and exuberant and horrific. It is all of these things at the same time. No two people are able to experience life in the same way, as their experiences, values, personalities, cultures, and genetic predispositions affect the way that they perceive things. I remind myself of this to remember that the world I see is not necessarily the world that you see; that does not make either one of our experiences more valid or important than the other. What’s important to you is important to me.

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Curiosity: I want you to be curious about yourself. Curious about your desires and fears. Do you feel the way that you do because of a value that you hold dear? Or do you feel this way because you think you’re supposed to? What are your fears? What are your hopes? I would like you to be compassionately curious with yourself, noticing your thoughts and motivations without judgment.

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Humility: While confidence is also a virtue and I want people to know their own worth, I see humility as something that reminds us to continually allow room for growth. When we are humble we acknowledge both our strengths and our needs for improvement, and we are more likely to seek out how to make these improvements a reality.  For me, humility in my work means acknowledging that I will never know all there is to know about mental health or about the populations that I serve. I also acknowledge that I can work to learn more and make myself better.

Generosity: I vow never to value money more than mental health. Yes, I make my living and pay my bills based on the work that I do and so it is part of what sustains me. But I also fully believe that a lack of access to proper mental health treatment is simply not an option. To that end I vow to provide services at reduced cost to at least 30% of my caseload, regardless of how many people I end up having the pleasure of serving. I also believe that life happens, and it is not up to me to profit from other peoples' change of plans. I vow to never charge for missed/late cancelled sessions, and to instead address the issue with the individual to find a solution should a problem arise.