Specialties
Every mental health care provider has their own niche– special and specific patient populations that allow their skills to shine. While I am trained to treat most “traditional” mental health diagnoses, I especially enjoy working with patients that fall into these categories. Click each option to learn more.
I am only accepting adult patients 18-65. Most of my patients are between the ages of 20 and 40!
Currently, I am only licensed in North Carolina. This means that, legally, I can only work with patients who are physically located in the state of North Carolina at the time of their appointments with me. You do not have to live in North Carolina, but if you do not, you would need to travel to that state for your appointment. As a reminder, I am 100% virtual, so you would need to find a safe, quiet location. I do not have a physical office.
If you’re feeling sad, down, tired, hopeless, faded, like you’re downing or “trapped under a wet blanket”, and if you have trouble shaking those feelings once they settle in, you may be experiencing a depressive episode. Whether this is your first time navigating these murky waters, or you’re seasoned to the depths, I can help guide you out of the darkness!
Do you notice yourself feeling tense, stressed, weak or shaky, fearful, uncertain, pressured, panicked, like you’re an “exposed nerve” or like you’re constantly on the verge of throwing up or shitting yourself? These are common descriptors from people who struggle with uncontrolled anxiety. Anxiety can rear its ugly head in many forms and to varying degrees. Many people live with generalized anxiety without even realizing it because it is their “baseline”. I have helped many patients decrease their anxieties to more manageable levels.
Due to the higher level of care needed when people are experiencing active manic episodes, and the fact that this is a 100% virtual clinic, I am unable to accept potential patients in this stage of the bipolar cycle. If you are in a depressive, hypomanic, or euthymic (stabilized) stage, or experience a first-time manic or hypomanic episode while already under my care, we will determine how to proceed based on your symptoms.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is complicated– both to diagnose and to treat. It runs much deeper than the mainstream understanding and can be harder to identify when it doesn’t present stereotypically. Likewise, medication management to treat OCD has some significant limitations. Research shows that, in most cases, medications only reduce OCD symptoms by about 30%; better than nothing, but nowhere near ideal for many patients. Exposure therapy is the gold standard, though it can be hard to find providers and it may also be more traumatic for some patients.
If you are struggling with OCD or OCD-type tendencies, I am still able to help, though it will likely be to a lesser degree than with other diagnoses.
Consistent, good quality sleep is the backbone of a positive mental state. Without adequate sleep, many other areas of our life suffer. Similarly, many mental health conditions can result in decreased sleep quality, perpetuating a vicious cycle. It can be important to parse out which came first– the sleep issues, or the other mental health problem(s)–and then create a comprehensive treatment plan that targets both.
Although Autism and ADHD** are the most well-known neurotypes, the term is actually much more expansive and includes both diagnosable conditions as well as those that are not medical diagnoses (such as “highly sensitive” and “twice exceptional”). While the term “neurodivergence” itself is also not an actual diagnosis, is more of a buzzword these days, and has different meanings to different people, it has provided great comfort to people who resonate with the word. In turn, I have found that people who identify as neurodivergent are often the patients that I connect best with, since I am neurodivergent, too!
**Please note that I am not able to prescribe controlled substances, which means that I can not prescribe stimulants to treat ADHD. I still have an arsenal of other treatment options that I can recommend/prescribe, if you are interested in a more holistic approach to treating ADHD!
No matter what acronym you prefer (I’ve used my preference!), if you are part of the queer community, you are both welcome and encouraged to come as you are! I, personally, am queer and, as such, I believe that everyone should be free to love who they love AND be free to be fully themselves.
I want to make it clear that these demographics are not mental health conditions, and are, more accurately, the primary patient populations that I serve. Both neurodivergent and queer people can have mental health symptoms or diagnoses that are often direct results of living in a world that can be so cruel and unaccepting of us. Neurotypes and sexuality/gender identity are inherent to who we are as people. They cannot– and should not– be treated.
I have specifically included these populations in this section because I am both queer and neurodivergent, and I know that, personally, I seek out providers who openly indicate that they are educated, welcoming, and celebratory of these pieces of my identity because it helps me feel like they would be a safe landing space. Hopefully, I can prove that I will be a safe landing place for you, as well!