Services for Women
Women work so hard to meet all their obligations — family, home, friends, work — and often end up putting themselves last. Caring for others can be unrelenting and takes a toll on our wellbeing, including our physical and mental health. In fact, women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder in their lifetime as compared to men.
Women deserve a space to be nurtured. This is your place to take care of you! At Evolve Counseling, you will always be accepted and valued for exactly who you are. Together, we will work to explore your values, learn techniques to calm your mind and body, and identify goals that will be most impactful for your story.
I’m proud to offer a tailored blend of evidence-based therapies designed to help women regain calm, clarity and connection during life’s transitions:
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I’m excited to offer Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), an innovative, evidence-based treatment that helps clients process traumatic memories and reduce psychological distress. ART uses a unique combination of eye movements/ bilateral stimulation, similar to those used in EMDR, along with voluntary image replacement techniques that allow you to keep the factual memory of difficult experiences while changing the way your brain stores the emotional images associated with them. What makes ART particularly appealing to many clients is that you don’t have to talk in detail about your trauma if you don’t want to—the processing happens primarily through guided visualization and bilateral stimulation, making it a gentler approach for those who find traditional talk therapy too difficult.
In my practice, I’ve seen remarkable results with ART for a wide range of concerns including PTSD symptoms, anxiety, depression, phobias, grief, and even performance anxiety. The “accelerated” aspect isn’t just in the name—clients often report significant relief in a surprisingly short time frame, which can be especially meaningful if you’ve been struggling for years or have tried other approaches without success. During our sessions, you’ll remain fully conscious and in control while we work together to help your brain reprocess distressing images and sensations associated with your presenting concern. Many clients describe feeling lighter, sleeping better, and finding that intrusive thoughts or traumatic memories no longer have the same emotional charge after ART treatment. I’m always happy to answer questions about whether ART might be right for your specific situation.
Whether you’re dealing with overwhelming emotions that seem to hijack your life, struggling with tricky relationships, or engaging in behaviors you would like to change, the use of Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills can offer a structured, compassionate path forward. Helping clients learn and engage with skills from Dialectical Behavior Therapy is something that I’ve found very helpful for clients. What makes DBT unique is its emphasis on balance – “dialectics” means moving towards the truth by acknowledging apparently opposite sides. When we get stuck in an all-or-nothing- thinking pattern, dialectics can help resolve the conflict and increase self compassion.
In our work together using DBT, you’ll learn practical skills across four key areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. I’ve watched clients grow their confidence as they build a toolkit of strategies that actually work in real-life situations. DBT is a great tool that honors both your pain and your potential for growth in your healing journey.
In my years of practice, I’ve found Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to be one of the most transformative approaches for clients who feel stuck in patterns of avoidance or struggle. ACT is based on a simple but powerful premise: suffering often comes not from our difficult thoughts and feelings themselves, but from our attempts to control or eliminate them. Rather than constantly engaging in a tug-of-war with anxiety, sadness, or self-doubt, ACT teaches us to make room for these experiences while still moving forward in meaningful directions. Through mindfulness and acceptance skills, we learn to observe our inner experiences without being controlled by them, creating the psychological flexibility needed to live fully even in the presence of discomfort.
From years of clinical practice, I’ve observed that emotions are much like waves—when clients try to push them away or suppress them, those feelings tend to intensify and persist, but when they simply acknowledge what they’re experiencing without judgment, the emotions naturally move through them, losing their overwhelming power and making space for genuine insight and healing.
What makes ACT particularly meaningful is its emphasis on values—the qualities and directions that matter most to you as a unique individual. Values aren’t goals to achieve but rather ongoing commitments to how you want to show up in life, whether that’s as a caring parent, a creative professional, an adventurous friend, or a compassionate partner. In our work together, we’ll clarify what truly matters to you, often discovering that your struggles have pulled you away from the life you want to live. With this clarity, we can then take committed action—small, concrete steps aligned with your values—even when fear or doubt shows up. This values-centered approach doesn’t eliminate pain, but it provides something more important: a compass for building a rich, meaningful life that’s worth the discomfort that inevitably comes with being human.
Whether you’re dealing with overwhelming emotions that seem to hijack your life, struggling with tricky relationships, or engaging in behaviors you would like to change, the use of Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills can offer a structured, compassionate path forward. Helping clients learn and engage with skills from Dialectical Behavior Therapy is something that I’ve found very helpful for clients. What makes DBT unique is its emphasis on balance – “dialectics” means moving towards the truth by acknowledging apparently opposite sides. When we get stuck in an all-or-nothing- thinking pattern, dialectics can help resolve the conflict and increase self compassion.
In our work together using DBT, you’ll learn practical skills across four key areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. I’ve watched clients grow their confidence as they build a toolkit of strategies that actually work in real-life situations. DBT is a great tool that honors both your pain and your potential for growth in your healing journey.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a transformative therapeutic approach that recognizes we all contain different “parts” within us—distinct aspects of our personality that developed to help us cope with life’s challenges. (If you have seen the movie “Inside Out” this might feel familiar– the creators of the movie consulted with clinical psychologists!)
You might recognize these parts in yourself: the inner critic who is always punishing and pushing you to be perfect, the anxious part that worries about the future, or the protective part that puts up walls to keep you from getting hurt in relationships. Rather than pathologizing these aspects of yourself, IFS views them with compassion, understanding that even the parts that cause us difficulty are trying to help us in some way. At the core of this model is the belief that beneath these protective parts lies your wisest “Self”—a calm, curious, compassionate center that has the natural capacity to heal your internal system.
In my work with clients using IFS, I’ll guide you to offer curiosity to these more problematic parts, exploring their positive intentions and bringing balance back to your system. We can also integrate EMDR or Accelerated Resolution Therapy at this time to revisit the origin story of these parts and offer healing to those younger versions of yourself.
Client share that this process often brings profound relief as parts that have been stuck in extreme roles for years finally feel heard, find healing, and can finally relax. Many clients find that symptoms like anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, or trauma responses shift naturally as their internal system reorganizes.
IFS is particularly effective for healing trauma, breaking unhelpful patterns, and developing greater self-compassion, and it honors the wisdom within you rather than imposing solutions from the outside. This approach empowers you to become your own best healer, with the therapist serving as a compassionate guide on that journey.
Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) is an evidence-based therapeutic approach that combines the ancient practice of mindfulness with the transformative power of self-compassion. In my work with clients, I’ve seen how so many of us have developed a harsh inner critic—that voice that judges, criticizes, and amplifies our perceived failures. Mindful Self-Compassion teaches a different way of relating to ourselves, particularly during difficult moments. Rather than getting caught in cycles of self-judgment or trying to push away painful emotions, this approach invites you to acknowledge your struggles with the same kindness and understanding you’d naturally offer a close friend. Through structured practices and guided exercises, you’ll learn to recognize when you’re suffering, to understand that struggle is part of the shared human experience, and to respond to yourself with genuine care and warmth.
What makes MSC particularly powerful is that it’s not about positive thinking or building self-esteem based on achievement—it’s about developing an unconditional sense of worth and a supportive inner voice that remains steady even when things go wrong.
Research has shown that cultivating self-compassion can significantly reduce anxiety, depression, and stress while increasing emotional resilience, life satisfaction, and overall well-being. In our sessions, I’ll guide you through practical techniques that can be integrated into your daily life, helping you break free from patterns of self-criticism and develop a more balanced, kind relationship with yourself. Whether you’re struggling with perfectionism, dealing with life transitions, or simply seeking a more peaceful way of being, Mindful Self-Compassion offers concrete tools for treating yourself with the care and understanding you truly deserve.
Polyvagal theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, offers a powerful framework for understanding how our nervous system responds to safety and threat in our environment. At its core, this theory explains that we have three primary nervous system states: a social engagement system (ventral vagal) where we feel safe and connected, a mobilization system (sympathetic) that activates our fight-or-flight response, and a shutdown system (dorsal vagal) that can leave us feeling frozen or numb. What makes this framework so powerful is that it helps us understand that many of our reactions—from anxiety and hypervigilance to depression and disconnection—aren’t character flaws but rather automatic nervous system responses shaped by our experiences, particularly experiences of trauma or chronic stress.
In my work with clients, I’ve found that polyvagal theory provides both insight and hope. When you understand that your body is constantly scanning for safety or danger (a process called neuroception), often outside your conscious awareness, it becomes easier to have compassion for yourself when you’re struggling. Rather than asking “What’s wrong with me?” we can ask: “What happened to me, and how did my nervous system learn to protect me?” Through therapy, we can work together to help your nervous system recognize safety in the present moment, gradually building your capacity to stay in that ventral vagal state where healing, connection, and growth become possible.
Understanding your nervous system states through a polyvagal lens becomes especially meaningful when we connect it to what matters most to you—your values. Perhaps you deeply value connection with loved ones, but find yourself withdrawing or snapping at them when your nervous system perceives threat. Maybe you value being present and engaged at work, yet notice yourself shutting down during important meetings. In our work together, we’ll explore how to recognize these nervous system patterns and gently cultivate greater safety and regulation, not as an end in itself, but as a pathway toward living more fully in alignment with your values. When your nervous system feels safe enough to access that social engagement state, you’re better able to show up as the partner, parent, friend, or professional you want to be—making choices that reflect what truly matters to you rather than simply reacting to perceived threats.
