Therapeutic Philosophy

From a relational perspective, our struggles don’t exist in isolation. They develop within relationships and are often maintained through patterns that once served an important purpose, especially in moments of stress, vulnerability, or disconnection.

From a psychodynamic perspective, these patterns are rarely random. They are shaped by earlier experiences, internal beliefs about closeness and safety, and emotional strategies that may have helped you adapt at one point in life but now create distance, anxiety, or stuckness. Often, what feels like a “problem” is also a form of protection.

For couples, this can look like getting caught in painful cycles: pursuit and withdrawal, criticism and defensiveness, shutdown and distance. Over time, both partners may feel unheard, alone, or uncertain how to repair what keeps breaking down.

For individuals, these patterns may show up as anxiety, disconnection, self-doubt, or repeating relational dynamics that don’t seem to change, even with insight and effort.

My work is relational, attachment-informed, and psychodynamic, meaning we pay attention to both what’s happening now and what shaped it. In therapy, we work to understand:

• How your emotional world and relationship patterns took shape

• What symptoms or relational distress may be communicating beneath the surface

• How past experiences continue to influence present relationships

• How new relational experiences, with others and within yourself, can foster lasting change

This approach is well suited for couples seeking deeper connection and meaningful repair, and for individuals who want long-term change rooted in insight, emotional integration, and secure relating, not surface-level solutions.

Why I Do This Work

Long before I had language for it, I was fascinated with how people relate. As a child, I found myself watching how humans interact—how closeness forms, how tension builds, how people protect themselves, and how connection is broken and repaired (or avoided). I didn’t know it then, but I was paying attention to the emotional life underneath what was being said.

That early curiosity eventually became a professional calling. In graduate school, my interest deepened as I studied attachment theory, Emotionally Focused Therapy, and then psychodynamic approaches in clinical supervision. What stood out to me was how often couples and individuals aren’t “broken” they’re responding in ways that make sense given what they’ve lived through, what they need, and what they’re trying to protect. I was drawn to work that helps people understand these patterns with compassion and clarity, not just manage symptoms or conflict at the surface.

In my work with couples, we focus on identifying the cycles that keep them stuck, understanding what each partner is protecting, and creating new ways of reaching for one another that feel safer, more honest, and more connected.

I’m drawn to this work because I’ve experienced how powerful it can be when people feel understood again, when repair becomes possible, and when relationships begin to feel like a place of safety rather than strain. I also work with individuals seeking psychodynamic, depth-oriented therapy to better understand themselves, shift repeating patterns, and build more secure relationships with others and with themselves.

Credentials

• Licensed Clinical Social Worker (Kentucky)

• Master of Social Work (University of Denver)

• Bachelor of Art in Social Work (University of Kentucky)

• Instructor in graduate-level social work ethics (part-time)

• Advanced training in relational and depth-oriented psychotherapies

  1. The International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy

  2. The International Psychotherapy Institute

  3. The Gottman Institute

• Ongoing consultation and continuing education