Sometimes life gives more than you feel you can handle. You get stuck in life’s messiness and complications. You find yourself in situations that feel hard and unfair. It may also feel like no one understands your past or current situation. It can be very lonely. This stuck feeling might be present for a brief period of time, or what feels like a lifetime. This alone can be overwhelming and exhausting. These big experiences can impact how you think and feel about yourself. You might loose confidence in your abilities or question the choices you make. You might also begin to feel like you deserve bad things, it’s your fault, or feel like a bad person. Sometimes it can feel like you must be the rock for everyone else and don’t have an opportunity to let someone bear the weight, or share the weight, with you.
You probably want to wave a magic wand and make all the tough stuff go away.
Unfortunately, no such wand exists. However, therapy can provide a place to feel understood and can help you bear or disseminate the weight of all the pressures and hurt you are experiencing. Therapy cannot make the bad stuff go away, nothing can. But in time, therapy can reduce the sting of painful experiences. Healing has occurred when you can look back on a situation/s and you no longer cry or feel the intense emotions that the experience once had.
Bad things don’t have to happen for a feeling of stuck to be present. Life can feel demanding and stresses of day-to-day experiences can be overwhelming. Now more than ever, there is so much pressure to be perfect, or rather have the appearance that all is well and perfect. This image often comes with an emotional price. No one is perfect and we all have our moments of struggle. No one has all the answers. It is okay to ask for help.
Training and specialties
I am a trauma therapist specialized in complex trauma (multiple traumas throughout life) as well as grief and loss. I work with adults, adolescents, and pre-teens to reduce or resolve trauma as well as addressing any general therapy needs or assisting with life goals. I attended my undergraduate degree at Creighton University and completed my Masters at Bellevue University in 2004. I have held a therapy license since 2006 and currently hold Licensed Mental Health Practitioner (LMHP) licensure for the state of Nebraska. Before entering into private practice I worked for several agencies in the Omaha area including Boys Town, Child Saving Institute, Behaven, and Lutheran Family Services RSafeprogram.
My specialties include complex trauma, childhood trauma including sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and other traumatic life experiences, problematic sexual behaviors in adolescents only, general parenting issues for all ages, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, depression, and anxiety. I have completed specialized training for Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), and Problematic Sexual Behavior Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (PSB-CBT). I am an EMDR Certified therapist and EMDR Consultant in Training. I have received specific training for general parenting.
I am experienced in working with a variety of traumas and grief and loss in adults and adolescents. I have worked with adolescents on probation and other adolescents that are engaging in problematic or challenging behaviors. I work with the entire family as appropriate to identify the root of the problem so that better solutions to the issue can be reached. Therapy is individualized for each client and the client’s family as each person/family is different. I have a direct approach and my clients are involved in every step of the therapy process. I empower my clients to take an active role in the therapy process and create a new normal. Bad experiences are only a small part of who you are and these experiences do not define you as a person.
I currently do accept some but not all private insurances. I am not a Medicaid/Medicare provider. Clients can also pay privately. Telehealth services are also available.
I am aware of my limitations as a therapist. Though I can work with clients of any age, I know I am not the best fit for children 10 and younger; individuals with cognitive limitations; adults with problematic sexual behaviors; and custody dispute situations. I am a firm believer that you must find the right therapist for you. If I am not that person, I will help you find a therapist that may be a better fit. I refer clients to other therapists if I do not feel my skills will meet your individual needs or if I feel you may be a better fit with another provider. I do seek out consultation on a regular basis to enhance my skills to better serve my clients.
I understand how difficult it can be when life becomes overwhelming. I have experienced significant sudden losses in my life. It is not easy. I also understand having to balance life’s challenges while working and being available and present for your family. In addition to my work as a therapist, I am a wife and mother to my son and stepson.
Creating a new normal involves blood, sweat, and tears at times. It is not easy and it takes time, but it is worth it!
If you are ready to create a new normal and are ready to move beyond what is holding you back, call me at 402-715-9710 to start the process.