Person-Centered (Rogerian)

The person-centered approach prioritizes your unique experiences and feelings, creating a safe space for you to explore your thoughts. In this empathetic environment, you can express yourself freely and authentically. Together, we’ll focus on your strengths and goals, empowering you to find your own solutions and growth. Your perspective is central to our work, fostering self-discovery and positive change at your own pace.

The single most influential instruction manual on how to show up in therapy.

My graduate school training was taught with a focus in person-centered therapy, and I have continued to use this as a baseline for my clinical practice throughout my work.

A person-centered approach was one of the core tenants of my graduate program at the California Institute of Integral Studies. I believe in the individual's ability to determine and enact what is in their own best interest, and that the therapist's role is to support this capacity. My ultimate goal is to make myself obsolete and see you off into the world stronger than when you first arrived in my office.

I believe that you are the expert in your own life. My role is to facilitate your journey by providing a non-judgmental environment where you can explore your thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Through active listening and empathetic understanding, I aim to help you gain clarity and insight into your own unique path.

As a therapist, I believe in creating a space where you feel truly seen and understood. My approach centers on being fully present with you, deeply listening to your experiences, and meeting you where you are. I focus on building a genuine connection, allowing us to explore your emotions, thoughts, and challenges with care and understanding. Tailoring our work to your unique needs and goals, I aim to foster a sense of safety, and collaboration that empowers you to navigate life’s complexities.

I believe in meeting a client where they are in life. To me, the client knows themselves best and I will never pretend to know them more than they know themselves.

I am interested in helping clients develop creative coping skills designed specifically for them. I am majorly influenced by the work of Virginia Satir and her principles of congruence, as well as John Bowlby and his workings in attachment theory.

Practicing unconditional positive regard is fundamental to who I am as a therapist. Compassion, connection and deepening our understanding are at the root of most, if not all healing.

Alongside with flexibility, I believe in honoring the needs of any individual in the present moment. The process is not linear, and I aim to support adolescents and adults as they understand their wants, needs, goals, and ultimately themselves.

Person-centered therapy is centered on the belief that you, as a client, have vast internal resources that can lead you on a path to growth, and my job as a therapist is to create the conditions that allow you to access them. I believe in this approach as a foundation for all that I do, even when I am integrating other modalities (such as solution-focused or art therapy). I taught this approach and communication skills to counselors-in-training at Saint Mary's College of California.

The baseline for person-centered therapy is this: I don't know what's best for you. I don't put my ego into your life. I don't judge you. Instead, I am a safe space of understanding, that helps you find your goals for therapy, your desires for healing, your hopes for change in your life, and then I help you gently navigate through challenges to reach your goals and bring hope to your life.

Just as "spilling the tea" involves sharing positive insights and truths, the strengths-based approach involves recognizing and celebrating your strengths and achievements. With this approach, I help you identify your personal strengths, such as resilience, creativity, and problem-solving abilities, and use these as a foundation for growth. By emphasizing what you are already doing well, we foster a sense of competence and self-efficacy.

When we learned about person-centered / humanistic theory in grad school, I knew this would be one of my greatest strengths as a counselor. It is what comes naturally and easily to me, and learning and implementing it as a theoretical basis for counseling had been very powerful. It is at the core of what so many of my clients need in their healing and/or growth journey.

The relationship between the client and their therapist is a crucial role in how the client is able to achieve their goals. Believing in yourself is a powerful tool to have and I hope throughout our therapeutic journey you are able to achieve that. Each client knows themselves the best and I find that it is important for each client to feel heard and understood. In utilizing person centered therapy I provide empathetic understanding, congruency and unconditional positive regard.

A client-centered approach was integral to my early training as a counselor for women in the battered women's shelter and rape crisis programs I worked in at the beginning of my career. This approach involves unconditional positive regard for the client and active listening. All of this came quite natural to me. This can be a very warm and compassionate approach. It is far from the only tool in my tool box, but it is fundamental.

Person-centered therapy (by Carl Rogers) emphasizes the therapist's unconditional positive regard, empathy, and genuineness towards the client. In this therapeutic modality, clients are encouraged to explore their thoughts, feelings, and experiences in a nonjudgmental environment. The focus is on empowering clients to develop self-awareness, self-acceptance, and a deeper understanding of themselves. Clients often experience a sense of validation, increased self-esteem, and insight.

I am dedicated to fostering a supportive and empathetic therapeutic environment. My expertise lies in empowering clients by emphasizing their innate strengths and capacity for self-healing. Through active listening, unconditional positive regard, and genuine empathy, I guide clients in exploring their thoughts and feelings, promoting personal growth and self-discovery. This approach helps clients achieve greater self-awareness and fulfillment.