Individual Outpatient Counseling

 
 

Areas of Clinical Experience & Expertise

  • Family of origin work

  • Grief and loss

  • LGBTQIAA needs, including gender transition

  • Trauma recovery and trauma-related diagnoses

  • Intimate partner violence, family violence, and sexual assault/abuse

  • Body image, eating disorders, & disordered eating and exercise

  • Substance use disorders

  • Caregivers, including other helpers and those supporting a loved one through physical or mental health diagnoses and crises

  • Anxiety and panic disorders

  • Depression & other mood disorders

  • Self-harm and suicidal thoughts

  • Academic & career stress, or exploration

  • ADHD, Autism, and support for neurodiverse individuals

  • Developmental transitions and personal growth

  • Relationship problems

  • Reproductive health challenges including perinatal mood disorders, infertility, pregnancy loss, and pregnancy and parenting after loss

Counseling Services Offered

Trauma, stress, grief, and challenging life experiences can show up in lots of different ways, with lots of different symptoms. In our current cultural and global landscape, stressors and exposure to traumatic material may be particularly high for all of us - which can also activate our personal histories and bring out some of our more challenging behaviors. Over the years I’ve worked with people who have many different kinds of presenting concerns or diagnoses, but who are working to cope with active stressors and heal past experiences. I help people who are confused by their emotional reactions to make sense of their feelings, and to learn how to cope with their stress in order to heal and grow. I love collaborating with clients to build a sense of safety and a strong working alliance, particularly with people who have experiences of relational trauma. Whether you are totally new to counseling, or have been in therapy for years, I want to work with you during this part of your story.

I provide individual, outpatient therapy to adults, ages 18+. I am currently offering telehealth services to North Carolina residents, and offer face-to-face therapy options in the Winston-Salem, NC area. I do not work with couples, families, or children - but I have a long history of working with folks who may be supporting a loved one involved in their own healing process, or in supporting individuals as they navigate relational challenges while also in couple or family counseling. I have specific expertise in working with emerging and young adults through developmental transitions, like career changes or work and family life planning. I am currently expanding my knowledge of supporting individuals navigating reproductive healthcare, particularly those experiencing infertility, miscarriage, and pregnancy and parenting after loss.

A Little About Outpatient Therapy

Outpatient treatment involves meeting either virtually or in my office for a 50-minute session. There may be times when your symptoms and needs rise to a level at which outpatient care is no longer enough to provide the appropriate clinical, ethical care and treatment for you. If I am ethically unable to provide outpatient services, I will have this conversation with you and refer you to a higher level of care designed to offer the best support for you at that time.

I generally recommend we meet at least every other week when starting counseling, though depending on clinical acuity and financial considerations, we may meet as frequently as once a week or as infrequently as once a month. If you are improving and want to decrease the frequency of our meetings, we can always discuss what maintenance or titration down of sessions to closure of our work might look like. I want to have conversations with you about how to make our time together work for your needs and schedule.

Therapy can be a challenging process; clients do not always feel immediate relief upon beginning therapy. In order to get the most benefit from the counseling process, it is essential for clients to participate fully. This participation includes providing accurate information to the best of your ability, including information about progress and challenges in meeting goals. It’s also important to attend sessions as scheduled, to participate during sessions, and to engage in treatment recommendations and homework outside of session. If something we are doing isn’t working, please let me know this as soon as possible so that we can work to find a different solution.

My Therapeutic Orientation - How I approach counseling

I use an integrated approach that is grounded in person-centered and trauma-informed theories. I also have training and experience working with: multicultural and feminist frameworks (like relational cultural theory), Health at Every Size and intuitive eating modalities, dialectical behavior therapy, mindfulness interventions, somatic practices, and motivational interviewing techniques.

Basically, all of those different terms mean that I think change happens through relationships, including our relationships to our selves, our communities, and the world around us. I see growth as non-linear, and believe we often have a lot of ambivalence and complicated feelings about the changes we want or need to make. We hold more wisdom in our bodies and emotions than we may think at first; we just have to develop skills to learn how to work with these parts of ourselves.

In counseling, I will collaborate with you to determine what therapeutic language will help you best understand your own growth and healing process, and to identify what skills and practices you can use in the context of your formal and informal support networks. With a strong therapeutic relationship, we can work together to help you navigate normative life transitions and stressors, and heal from painful, adverse, and traumatic experiences. You can learn more about my clinical work and experience by viewing my Counseling Professional Disclosure Statement or visiting the About Brittany page.