Being a therapist and going along side of people on their healing journey is a responsibility I do not take lightly. There are many days when I am sitting with a client, listening to their story, watching as they take risks and embrace vulnerability, and I think I am so grateful to be a part of their experience.
MY PHILOSOPHY
My experiences, as well as my journey in therapy, taught me that therapy looks different depending on the client. Therapy can look like working to resolve a specific issue or conflict disrupting your life. It can also be an ongoing process where you continually peel back layer after layer, learning more about yourself as you change, evolve, and heal. While my style naturally lends to more long-term work, I also enjoy working with clients who have specific goals in mind.
Every therapist has a theory, or often multiple theories, they use to guide their work with clients. Some common theories you may have heard of are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). If you have no idea what any of those things are, you’ve come to the right place. I summarize different types of therapeutic approaches in my blog, Types of Therapy.
Client feedback
"Where do I even begin? When I first started seeing Kristy, I felt completely and irreparably broken. During our first session, when prompted as to why I had sought out therapy, I recited a long list of everything that was wrong with me and my life. Kristy listened and nodded while I went on and on sharing details of a relentless food addiction, a soul crushing marriage, an impossible work situation, my lifelong battle with depression, toxic relationships with “friends” and family, and so much stress and crippling anxiety, that I still don’t know how I made it through to share my story. I felt like I was being buried alive with feelings of despair—I just wanted a way to make it end. At the end of my long list, I said, “…and there’s nothing I can do about any of it.” In the kindest and most compassionate way possible, Kristy replied with the most simple response, “tell me why you feel like there’s nothing you can do.”
Hour after hour and week after week, the same cycle repeated. I would explain why there was no way out of a situation or an emotion, and Kristy would help me come to my own conclusion of what I needed to do to slowly tear down the walls of the prison that I felt surrounded me. I quit constantly feeling like I was the victim. I realized that terrible things were going to happen in my life that I couldn’t prevent—all I could control was how I chose to react. Armed with this new found knowledge and hope, I leaned in. I did the hard work. I baby-stepped. I left a terrible marriage. I parted ways with toxic “friends”. I set healthy boundaries with family. I took a leap of faith and changed careers. And, I waged war on an eating disorder that was doing its very best to take me down for the past decade…a fight that I’m proud to say I’m currently winning.
Reflecting on my journey, it’s temping to say that Kristy saved my life, but that wouldn’t be true. In reality, Kristy gave me the tools, support, and unending encouragement for me to save my own life. As Glinda the Good Witch would say, “you've always had the power, my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself."
WHY MIND, BODY & SOUL
Mind
Engaging the mind involves understanding cognitive patterns and internalized beliefs. This looks bringing your attention to the voice in your head saying “you’re not good enough” or “you’re being too much” or “if you can’t do that perfectly, don’t even try” and exploring how that voice got there. It’s exploring the adjustments you’ve made to adapt to your environment, and whether those behaviors continue to serve you.
Body
Tuning into your body allows you to fully experience your feelings. Even when we don’t want to. It’s noticing the way your fists clench under the table when you’re in an argument. Or the way your shoulders cave in and your make yourself small in a crowded grocery store check-out line. Or the lump in your throat when you’re about to share a hard truth. There is wisdom in your body that can be tapped in to when given the opportunity.
Soul
Working with the spirit means getting in touch with your intuition that can guide you and only you. Sometimes it’s a quiet whisper or a clear command from our higher self. This also means acknowledging and having compassion for the past versions of yourself that may have chosen different paths, and allowing yourself the space to explore a new path that’s in alignment with your values, growth, and healing
MY STORY
My Therapist Origin Story is very similar to that of Spiderman’s. Except instead of being bitten by a radioactive spider and being entrusted to fight crime, I received my master’s in counseling from Towson University in 2016 and began working as a therapist.
OK so it’s nothing like Spiderman but it’s very hard to come up with an enticing opening paragraph! To be fair, I’m sure I was bitten by a spider somewhere along the way.
Like many people who find themselves in an Introduction to Psychology class, I wanted to learn more about how people develop into who they are. As my education continued, so did my curiosity about human behavior and development. Couple that with my own therapy experience, and I started on the path to becoming a therapist.
After getting my master’s in counseling, I began working with clients struggling with substance use. This experience helped me better understand substance use as a symptom of something greater; whether that be untreated mental health, trauma, access to resources, or environment, to a new a few.
Then life brought me to Michigan, where I provided mental health counseling to adults and teens. I eventually became a supervisor, where I continued to work with individuals and couples while supervising a team of therapists. Those 4 years provided me with an incredible opportunity to work with therapists and other providers to offer support to a wide range of clients.
Then in 2024, it was time to move back to Colorado and start Table for One LLC! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a billion more times. I love the work I do and I’m so grateful I get to do it. I love working with individuals and couples who are looking to better understand themselves and their relationships.