What we believe

First and foremost, you are welcome here. No matter your race, sexual orientation, gender expression, neurotype - A Lot Like Living is queer & neurodiversity affirming. In fact, I really love working with late/un/self-diagnosed AuDHD folx! I work hard to make sure that my counseling practices are inclusive while knowing that there is much work to do. I am a firm believer that your lived experience is valid and should be honored. We can include your spirituality in session if you would like, and I will not bring up any religious platitudes or scripture as a means of coping with the world. I am super aware of the impact of religious trauma on mental health.

Sigh. Living in this world can be hard. Especially if you don’t fit the mold (and, I’m not really sure that anyone does). The ideas of perfection perpetuated by media and capitalism. Racism. Homophobia. Generational trauma. It’s all a lot - and this is not even close to an exhaustive list of “it.” Living in this world can be hard. And our nervous systems pick up on it - they are so well designed to notice danger. And with the 24 hour news cycle, it feels like there is danger all the time (and, truly, there might be). So, your anxiety and stress around how you’ll get (and keep) a job, or be in a healthy relationship, or manage changing family dynamics makes a lot of sense. 

At A Lot Like Living, I believe that there are ways for you to start to feel safer. To differentiate when being in fight or flight might be a really great survival strategy from when it is safe enough for you to look for some glimmers (signs of beauty and joy and hopefulness in this world). And I know that this is different for everyone. As a white woman, with a ton of privilege, my glimmers might be different than yours. And it seems very important to start to explore places where you might start to feel a little more safe - on your terms. You get to decide what feels safe to you. And sometimes, based on how your nervous system developed, you might want to start to figure out why what feels safe (or familiar), might not actually be safe anymore. Let’s do it - I will sit with you while you start the tough journey of unpacking your experiences. 

Sometimes, we come to the journey of therapy in the hopes that therapists have magic words and life hacks. And, while sometimes I wish that were true, we’re just human, like you. So, while we can’t hack your way to happiness, I will sit with you in the mess and imperfection of life, to figure out how you can calm your anxiety, heal some trauma, and live the life that you desperately want to live. I can hold the hope for you when it seems impossible. You are worth holding hoping for.