Clinical Services

My Approach

To be in context, is to find oneself socially located and affirmed in the present in a way that can only be done through a relational framework, whereby a person is seen correctly and affirmed by others, which thereby helps us to show up more as our authentic self. Our unfolding life is informed by past experience including those struggles which continue to impact us and those which we have overcome and the continued journey is directed by our intentions, hope and our ability to respond rather than react to what is emerging for us.

By integrating the past, achieving more security in one's identity(s), and being internally and externally resourced in the present, a person can move forward with renewed agency, live more freely, and experience greater authenticity. They can become willing and able to engage in new and vital life experiences, which can then inform new identity exploration and self-acceptance.

At In Context, I work with my clients to help them integrate and become clear on those identities and intersectionalities that are most empowering while affirming and resourcing those in which they are most marginalized so that they can move with more certainty towards that which they are becoming. It is through a highly relational and collaborative therapeutic process, located within an existential and gestalt framework, that I assist my clients to move through through adversity and journey towards a space of greater authenticity and freedom. This new space and emerging location can be realized as contextually different from the previously felt sense of restriction which has been formed in response to external (systemic oppression) and internalized (self) invalidation.

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I offer child, adolescent, emerging adult, and adult counseling - including individual, couples/relationship, and group therapy. I also offer clinical supervision, training, and consultation related to gender and identity-affirming care.

Individual Psychotherapy

I offer a standard 53-55min counseling session for my clients, typically on a weekly, bi-monthly or as-needed basis. I locate each client within their natural developmental process and interests for healing and growth. My therapy is founded on the core belief that if an individual is authentically affirmed, and emotionally and psychologically resourced they will naturally reach out into the world to get their needs met, challenge themselves to grow, and adaptively respond to difficulties. Identity formation and moving towards gender congruence are essential tasks to achieving and maintaining wellness and so I provide a space in which uncertainty is welcome and exploration is encouraged. I have no agenda for whether my clients undergo medical transition but will provide them all of my available resources to gain access to those interventions if and when they seek them while supporting them to move to increased security in their identities. All of my clients experience the effects of minority stress so in addition to gender and identity work, we can explore the ways in which they have formed their personality in response to adverse experience, including the impact of marginalization and systems of oppression on their wellbeing. We can then work to support flexibility in how they respond to invalidation and enhance self-acceptance so that they can engage in their world with increased resilience.

Gender Diverse Youth

I specialize in working with gender diverse children (age 5+), adolescents and the families who love and support them. Typically, these are client only sessions but sometimes I offer split session work typically 40min. with the youth and 15-20min. with the parent(s) and sometimes with both child and family. Time spent with the young person consists of gender affirming psychotherapy that is developmentally tailored to the that child's unique identities and gender experience. For younger children, this may look like more organic play therapy that allows for the child to naturally open up to more difficult topics related to gender congruence, social engagement, and self-acceptance and help them to organize around their emerging internal sense of gender and identity. For adolescents, traditional talk therapy is used along with periodic expressive arts. At this age, we may need to explore higher levels of distress related to dysphoria and the negative coping strategies that may be existing or emerging. I then offer feedback to the parents in a general way about our session work and provide them competency training so that they can better affirm and advocate for their child at home, in the extended family, and at school. I keep a clinical lens on the impacts of minority stress for queer and trans youth throughout my counseling and especially during the current political climate and its related messaging. My hope is to build resilience in my clients and their families to be able to counteract the negative impacts of this messaging on esteem, dignity, and agency.

Surgery/Medical Readiness Support Letters and Referrals

I offer surgery/medical readiness and referral letters including hormone therapy (HRT), top and bottom surgery, and other affirming procedures. Every insurance company has their own requirements for these letters and they also need to meet the guidelines of WPATH SOC 7 (and soon to be 8). I offer a gender assessment and letter writing as part of the intake process into my practice where it’s indicated. I also offer stand-alone sessions (typically 1-2 appointments) to offer these letters. An assessment consists of a full mental health assessment, exploration and feedback on my client's pre and post care plan, and follow-up counseling as needed. I operate largely from an informed consent model that also honors WPATH SOC 7 guidelines. Occasionally, an individual will be impacted by environmental or mental health concerns that could keep them from engaging in the self-care needed to have successful outcomes from their medical care. Additionally, a client may still be exploring what would be the most congruent care for their gender experience. In these cases, I may recommend ongoing therapy as a way to gain access to additional support while they prepare to move forward with procedures.