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 be something you engage in for 3-12 months, 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 exploring cognitive patterns, emotions, and thought processes, fostering self-awareness, and implementing changes to promote mental clarity and emotional well-being.
Body
When looking at the body, the focus is on physical health and well-being, incorporating practices such as exercise, nutrition, and mindfulness to enhance the mind-body connection, alleviate stress, and improve overall physiological functioning.
Soul
Working with the spirit encompasses addressing one's sense of purpose and connection to something greater than oneself. We will integrate spiritual practices, mindfulness, and existential exploration to foster inner peace, meaning, and a sense of wholeness.
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 Psychology 101 in college, I wanted to learn more about how people develop into who they are. Not to mention, the professor was engaging, and my brother was one of the teaching assistants for the course. As my education continued, so did my curiosity about human behavior and development. Couple that with my own therapy experience, and by the end of my undergraduate degree, I started on the path to becoming a therapist.
After getting my master’s in counseling, I began working as an addiction counselor. I worked with clients who were court ordered to attend treatment as well as those who were attending by choice. I then worked as a therapist at a Methadone clinic, working with people struggling with opioid addiction.
After moving to Midland, Michigan, I worked as a therapist treating mental health concerns in adults and adolescents. I eventually became a supervisor, where I continued to work with clients and supervised a team of therapists providing therapy to adults, teens, and children.