- Now welcoming new nature therapy clients in mid-Missouri
Clinical Practice
Evidence-based individual therapy for adults navigating anxiety, burnout, trauma, depression, and life transitions — offered virtually in MO and FL, and in-person on the trails of central Missouri.
The Work
When dealing with something as complex as human behavior, the most effective approach is one that is evidence-based, yet also flexible. My approach to therapy is grounded in solid science but is also warm, compassionate, and centered around your individual values and needs.
At times we'll emphasize real, measurable change; at other times we'll emphasize acceptance, openness, and letting go of control. I draw on extensive clinical experience and knowledge of behavioral science — yet firmly believe that you are the true expert on your life and your experience.
In addition to virtual sessions, I bring the therapy process outdoors, incorporating nature-based therapy and natural environments into the work. In natural settings, the nervous system settles, your awareness softens and opens, and unhelpful thoughts and behaviors begin to shift naturally.
If You Work With me
A focused, evidence-based approach, with a warm and compassionate quality, tailored to your individual needs and goals. Learning and practicing skills like mindful meditation and breath-work, incorporating health practices such as movement and nutrition. Working towards changing your relationship with painful thoughts, emotions, and memories, learning to understand the important messages hidden inside of these experiences, rather than trying to suppress or avoid them.
Our Philosophy
If these principles fit well with your own, then you're likely to benefit from working with me.
Flexibility and change is in our nature as human beings. Often the real problem is our resistance to change. Resisting it leads to inflexibility, stagnancy, and a sense of being in a constant battle with yourself. If we are willing to listen, life usually tells us in subtle and not-so-subtle ways what changes are needed.
Like the wake behind a ship, our past is a trail we leave behind as we move through life. It has value and can give us clues as to how we ended up where we are — but just as a ship's wake does not determine its direction, our past does not determine what we do next. It takes work, but each of us has the capacity to make sharp changes in direction, right now in this moment, leaving a completely different kind of wake behind you.
Painful thoughts and emotions have purpose and meaning. When we treat them as enemies or "symptoms," we get drawn into a battle with our own experience. If we take the time to explore and understand them, we almost always find they are signals alerting us to something important, or something that needs to change. The most effective way to respond to painful thoughts and emotions is to show them compassion, treat them as messengers, and respond to the message appropriately.
Like every other creature on this planet, human beings are intimately connected with the world around us — our physical environment, culture, the people surrounding us, everything in your environment influences you in some way. Understanding a person's connection with their environment, including their history (i.e. past environments), allows you to better understand why they feel and behave the way they do, and how to create change that lasts outside the therapy room.
A therapist's role is very different from the role of a Medical Doctor's. An M.D. gives direct instructions and performs treatment on you. A therapist doesn't do something to you — they work on problems with you, helping you to explore your experiences in new ways, pointing out blind spots, and proposing alternative paths to experiment with. In the end, it is always you who makes the final call on whether or not to make a change.
At the most fundamental level, therapists are no different than their clients. We do not belong to a separate class of people who have it all figured out and are free from emotional pain and struggle. With this in mind, I don't speak from a place of authority, but from a place of partnership and shared experience.
Questions
Yes! For virtual sessions (insurance does not cover Trail Therapy sessions) with Missouri and Florida residents (the states where I'm licensed to practice), I take the following insurances: Aetna, United Health, Oscar, Oxford, and Carelon Behavioral Health. If I don't take the insurance you have, I can provide a monthly invoice and superbill that you can submit to your insurance for possible reimbursement — many PPO plans will cover a portion of out-of-network care. If you don't have insurance, I also accept self-pay clients.
Psychotherapy is clinical treatment provided by a licensed clinician — diagnosis-informed, goal-oriented, and structured around your mental health. Forest therapy is a wellness practice and does not address individual mental health issues in detail. Some clients choose to do both; Nature-based psychotherapy sessions blend the two, using the outdoors to enhance the effects of 1:1 therapy work.
It depends entirely on what you're working on and what your goals are. Some people come for a focused eight-to-twelve sessions to address a specific issue. Others might benefit from a longer therapy experience to address complex, long-standing issues. When we begin the process, we'll talk about these options openly and revisit the plan as we go — you're never obligated to engage in therapy longer than you feel is necessary.
Both. I see clients (MO & FL residents) over a secure video platform, and I see clients in-person for nature-based therapy in the Columbia, Missouri area. Nature-based walking sessions are in-person only and weather-dependent, at public parks and trails.
Yes. Everything we discuss is confidential, protected by law and professional ethics, with a few exceptions: In the case of imminent risk of harm to yourself or others, suspected abuse of a child or vulnerable adult, or upon court order of your therapy notes, confidentially must be breached. I'll walk you through all of this at intake.
