Hi, I’m Kristen.

I’m a Registered Social Worker with over 12 years working with adults, children and families navigating some of life’s most difficult or challenging circumstances. Those years have reinforced something I believe strongly: people deserve to be understood in the context of their experiences and not defined by their most difficult moments. Our stories are rarely simple and understanding someone means looking beyond what’s happening on the surface.

I’m also a mom, a wife, a sister, an eldest daughter, a friend, and someone who feels all the things too.

I believe that people come to therapy for all kinds of reasons. We can be so much harder on ourselves than we would ever be on someone we care about. We show up for everyone else, hold ourselves to impossibly high standards, and somehow still wonder if we’re doing enough. We replay conversations, question decisions, tell ourselves we should be “handling” things better. And sometimes, we don’t even know why we feel the way that we do.

That’s where therapy can come in. Not because there’s something wrong with you or because you need someone to tell you how to live your life. But because sometimes it helps to have someone in your corner while you’re figuring things out.

I’m particularly interested in the relationship we have with ourselves. The way that we talk to ourselves, how we feel about our bodies and the space we take up, the expectations we carry and how difficult it can be to prioritize our own needs.

Together, we can get curious about the thoughts, feelings or patterns that keep showing up in your life. Where did they come from? How have they helped you? Are they still working for you now? We can make space for the parts of yourself that you may have learned to criticize, understand the experiences that have shaped you and work towards a relationship with yourself that feels a little more compassionate.

My approach is warm, grounded and intentional. I want you to feel comfortable showing up as yourself. We can sit with the hard stuff, talk about the things that you’ve been carrying around for years or something that happened on your way to your session. There is room for the lighter moments, the messy ones and the experiences that feel much harder to put into words.

My work is informed by approaches like ACT, DBT and compassion-focused and parts-informed perspectives. You’re a whole person with your own experiences, relationships, strengths and ways of making sense of this world. What we do together will depend on you, what you’re going through and what feels most helpful.

I look forward to getting to know you and figuring out where we go from here.