Julie, LMSW, CBT, DBT, and EMDR Therapist
Welcome! Fostering healing toward your highest peak…
Adventures in life may bring challenges. May your journey consist of a path to self-discovery, strengthen your healing along the way, and guide you forward to your highest peak of wellness.
Each person’s journey is unique…
but a common ground that we can often identify is that when situations in life alter our sense of security, cause emotional distress and leave us feeling disconnected, our past, current and anticipated future can simply feel overwhelming.We often find ourselves in a pattern of great difficulty, presented with barriers and roadblocks when trying to establish a path towards improvement. Does this sound familiar? What if I told you, all you need to do is take the first step. That one step creates purposeful movement towards an improved sense of self and functioning within your life.
Our goal together is not to figure it all out. Nobody has it all figured out, and that is not an expectations that will be encouraged during your therapy experience. Our goal is to acknowledge where you have been, where you are now, and where you want to be! I know you see the world with different eyes, as you have had your own unique experiences, no matter who has been on the journey of life with you. Your point of view, your needs, and your goals will be focused on. I will encourage you to understand boundaries and set realistic expectations for yourself while establishing and maintaining a therapeutic relationship with you.
During our time together, our goal is to enhance your overall wellness, which includes your emotional, social, and psychological functioning. Noticing your needs and creating time to take care of yourself will be an ongoing goal as we work with one another. Change is hard, but you are already navigating hard things, so why not be intentional and embrace difficulties you are facing as an opportunity for improved wellness? That’s what I am here to help with.
From our first day to our last…
You will be heard, supported, validated, and encouraged. You know yourself best and will be the leader of your treatment, with me being here as a consistent support, encouraging trust and strengthening our therapeutic relationship along the way. I will encourage you to discuss any barriers with the consistency of your care, identify success and limitations of strategies outside of our time together, and help strengthen your coping and preventative skills, all in an effort to foster healing.
Throughout our lives…
We will experience strengths and face challenges. We also know that your unique experiences in life alter how you cope with such things. How do you see yourself? How do you relate to others? What makes you feel secure in your world? How do you find balance? Let’s establish interventions to enhance your awareness and resilience to such things, encourage purposeful change, and strengthen your understanding of self. This will help reduce distressing emotions like feeling overwhelmed, out of control, disconnected, halted, and unmotivated.
Fully authentic…
You may have a support circle filled with individuals who are so important to you, and you may even feel rather comfortable reaching out to them for support. However, having a trusting, secure therapeutic relationship offers you a space to simply show up. You do not need to restrict your thoughts or emotions out of fear of how a loved one may feel about you, or how they will cope with hearing your experiences. I am here in a dedicated space for you. You are deserving of this time, and it is an imperative step on your path to healing.
Our time together is free of judgment, solely focused on you, and will empower you to improve your insights, coping responses, thought processes, communication, boundaries, and relational functioning. This will impact how you show up for yourself as well as how you show up for your relationships and responsibilities in your many roles of life.
About Me
How I can help you…
I enjoy making connections with people and feel honored to get these opportunities during my service delivery as a therapist.
Throughout therapy, I will be here as a consistent support to help guide, encourage, and assist you with your goals for improved wellness. I will promote a secure space for you to work on the areas of wellness that you have determined deserve your effort, attention, and enhancement. Our trust and comfort with one another are imperative, and I will always welcome you to share insight on any needs or concerns throughout our time working together. I offer a validating, affirming, empathic, motivating, and supportive therapeutic approach. I will also strive to get to know you better—your preferences, values, interests, and strengths—while developing and sustaining a therapeutic relationship with you that aligns with your attributes. If you feel like this aligns with what you are looking for, let’s take this step towards greater fulfillment together and get started on your path to healing.
I continue to view my time with others as a privilege and am honored to be a part of an individual’s journey to a greater sense of being.
Education and training…
I received my Bachelor of Social Work from Saginaw Valley State University and Master of Social Work from Michigan State University.
My professional experiences consist of working with children, adolescents, young adults, older adults, and caregivers. I have worked with an array of diagnoses and in environments including long-term care communities, rehabilitation communities, school communities (Elementary, Junior, and High Schools), and private practice.
I have areas of specialty including: Grief and Ambiguous Loss, Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, Depression, and Anxiety Disorders. Other areas of experience include Chronic Illness, Life Adjustments, Self-Improvement, and Caregiver Support. I have postgraduate training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR). I enjoy working with clients who are willing to find comfort in the discomfort of what vulnerability can first feel like and have a motivating force for improved wellness!
As a therapist, I use these modalities/therapy approaches such as: Cognitive Processing, Mindfulness-Based, Motivational Interviewing, CBT, EMDR, Person-Centered, Strength-Based, and DBT skill sets.
When I am not giving therapy…
I enjoy spending time with my family. That might include side-by-side riding, sporting events, fishing, and swimming, taking care of our pigs on the farm, or going up north.
I also make time just for me and love doing things like daily physical enrichment, being outdoors, journaling, reading, and taking pictures.
My goal is to make therapy a positive experience for you…
Be proud of choosing yourself, being intentional, and embracing difficulties you are facing as an opportunity for forward movement. Reach out to me if you would like to take this step together and establish a path towards a higher peak of functioning.
Call me today for an intake appointment. (248) 962-3329