Having spent just over 20 years in college counseling centers, I have a strong background in working with late adolescents and emerging adults. I find this age to be extremely exciting as it provides an opportunity to be influential with clients who are experiencing great transitions and developmental changes in their lives already. However, I have also worked in a variety of other settings including private practice, community mental health and inpatient with adults and individuals of varying ages.
While I categorize myself loosely as a CBT oriented therapist who thinks about how clients see and interpret their experiences, I also particularly value the therapeutic relationship as a means for helping clients effect change. I tend to be solutions focused- working with clients to identify what it is they want to change, and both collaborating with them and using my clinical authority to challenge them to experiment with new ways of thinking and behaving. Interpersonal patterns or personal history also become a rich background for exploration as together we may gain understanding of how a person’s beliefs about themselves and the world have developed, but may no longer serve them. In addition, bringing in creative approaches that allow clients to express themselves differently or in new ways is a highlight for me when it can happen. I also tend to bring in aspects of other therapeutic approaches including ACT, DBT, and mindfulness to help provide clients with tools and techniques for coping.
I have worked with individuals with diverse stories including ones related to their culture, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, political orientations, gender, family, and histories of trauma or abuse. I have also served as a strong advocate for clients as we deal with the additional layer of potentially high stakes for clients needing to make improvements in their mental health so that they can improve their functioning in rigorous academic or professional environments. I have extensive experience with a wide range of clinical issues including depression, anxiety, relationship issues, identity development, academic/ career concerns, body image issues, trauma, etc. I believe that I am highly skilled in building strong therapeutic relationships with a wide range of clients, and can work effectively with a wide range of presenting concerns, including working effectively with clients who have previous treatment failures or had difficulty connecting with other therapists. I enjoy meeting with clients in person, but also am comfortable being flexible and using technology to allow therapy to be more accessible and convenient.
Fees: $$$$
Karen encourages people considering therapy to reach out to discuss fees if there are any questions about this range.