what therapy can do for you

I practice under a theoretical framework called Relational-Cultural Theory.

Humans are interconnected and impacted by their environments, relationships, and the systems they live within. These connections can benefit humans in community sharing, volunteer organizations, and governments that provide safety and structure to our society. However, many systems contribute to marginalization, poverty, social injustices, and discrimination. RCT is all about the complexity of human relationships, not only in your interpersonal relationships but also in how social systems shape and maintain the manner people relate to one another. From our connections within these relationships and systems, we develop a concept of who we are.

When this self-concept, or image of ourselves, feels misunderstood, is violated, or undervalued, it affects our mental health. We may experience anxiety, depression, stress, anger, humiliation, shame, isolation, and more. Although we cannot turn the clock back and change any portion of our lives, we can examine these troubling life experiences and the social structures we live within. We can come to understand them, create new meanings, and develop new coping strategies to manage the consequences and reverberations.

With RCT, a widely accepted therapeutic framework for guidance, we will empathetically examine how past non-responsive or failed relationships may have become the expectations carried into current relationships. This process allows you to experience an authentic connection, understand yourself, and learn to establish mutually growth-fostering relationships.