Sputtering/Creaky Relationships? The "Love Mechanic" is here to assist. I specialize in working with couples of all backgrounds. This includes married, engaged, living together, dating, and same-sex (lesbian and gay). As a systemic and collaborative therapist, my goal is to help you uncover your true potential and lead a life that is worth celebrating. While we can't change difficult situations of the past, we can work together to better understand and resolve challenges in your life. Through a systemic approach we look at the relational contexts that influence the individual, couple, and family. This includes all aspects of life including internal and external influences such as family, community, and societal effects. By applying complementary therapy approaches and techniques, we will unearth long-standing behavior patterns or negative perceptions that may be holding you back from experiencing a more fulfilling and meaningful life.

I am a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and have been licensed for over 23 years. I can help you to find a better balance, improve your mood, reduce stress, change self-defeating patterns, and feel better about your life. I offer safe and supportive counseling for people struggling with anxiety, depression, problems with relationships, or who are simply trying to improve some aspect of their life. Therapy brings the opportunity to explore what is meaningful in your life and help you to make appropriate choices. I help people take charge of their life, build on their strengths and assets, manage negative/stressful issues or concerns and live a self-directed, joyful, productive life. We'll find solutions to life's challenges, reduce depression, anxiety, stress, and explore the "mind-body-spirit" connection to health and wellness. I work with adults, adolescents and children in individual, marriage and family therapy. I use a non-judgmental, straight forward approach with a dash of humor on the side. I am trained in EMDR Therapy and can help you sort through past traumas. Combining a variety of techniques geared towards each individuals learning style we will find the approach that works best for you.

I work with people who want to help themselves get out of that "stuck" place. Whether it be individuals, couples or families, we will work together to help you move forward. I believe that we as humans are always changing and adapting. Learning how to change and adapt in healthy ways is something many of us did not learn growing up. Sometimes, because of various issues in our formative years, we learned how to cope in ways that no longer work for us as adults. I would like to help you change to be a healthier, more vital, you!

I have a long history working with adults, adolescents, and the elderly who experience problems associated with unexpected changes in life, loss of significant relationships, sexual orientation, sexual violence, domestic violence, and family of origin. My goal is to help people see the relationship between the unresolved issues in their life and how they manifest as problems related to depression, anxiety, grief and loss, and problems adjusting to life style transitions. I am prepared to meet you where you are, help you to understand the problems you are experiencing and learn what will help you to improve your situation. There are practical approaches to these issues and you can develop skills to improve your everyday experiences.

Affiliated Counseling Center is an outpatient mental health center with offices in Fridley, Woodbury and Uptown. We have on staff over a dozen therapists who offer areas of expertise in a wide range of life isues. Our therapists work with children, adolescents, adults and senior populations. We offer counseling for individuals, couples and families. We offer evaluations, testing and diagnostic services for neuropsychological needs, including ADD/ADHD testing, testing for learning disabilities as well as gifted and talented individuals/children. We have on staff two psychiatric providers who offer psychiatric evaluation and ongoing medication management services. Affiliated Counseling Center is based upon humanistic principles, which value the client-therapist relationship above all else. Within this scope, our practioners utilize a variety of techniques and treatment modalitiies to assist clients, including client centered therapies, narrative, cognitive behavioral, motivational interviewing, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, the Hakomi Method (a technique focused on locating origins of pain within the self), psychodymanic therapy, dream analysis. We also offer anger management services, treatment for compulsions and obsessions, addictions including gambling and sexually motivated behaviors. We treat eating disorder, personality disorders, grief/loss issues, infertility and adoptions issues, blended family issues and more. We seek to meet the needs of the communities we have practice locations within, and offer a full breadth of services to meet that end.

Affiliated Counseling Center is an outpatient mental health center with offices in Fridley, Woodbury and Uptown. We have on staff over a dozen therapists who offer areas of expertise in a wide range of life isues. Our therapists work with children, adolescents, adults and senior populations. We offer counseling for individuals, couples and families. We offer evaluations, testing and diagnostic services for neuropsychological needs, including ADD/ADHD testing, testing for learning disabilities as well as gifted and talented individuals/children. We have on staff two psychiatric providers who offer psychiatric evaluation and ongoing medication management services. Affiliated Counseling Center is based upon humanistic principles, which value the client-therapist relationship above all else. Within this scope, our practioners utilize a variety of techniques and treatment modalitiies to assist clients, including client centered therapies, narrative, cognitive behavioral, motivational interviewing, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, the Hakomi Method (a technique focused on locating origins of pain within the self), psychodymanic therapy, dream analysis. We also offer anger management services, treatment for compulsions and obsessions, addictions including gambling and sexually motivated behaviors. We treat eating disorder, personality disorders, grief/loss issues, infertility and adoptions issues, blended family issues and more. We seek to meet the needs of the communities we have practice locations within, and offer a full breadth of services to meet that end.

Bridging Hope Counseling offers individual, couples and family counseling. Additionally, DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) Skills groups for Adolescent Girls, Adolescent Boys and Adult Women. The belief is that you are doing the best you can with what you have. The approach is non-judgemental and effective, allowing you to feel comfortable and move forward with your goals. We also have play therapy, sand tray therapy, trauma and abuse therapy, autism and Asperger's therapy, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), CD Assessments. There are 8 therapists with many different specializations.

Bridging Hope Counseling offers individual, couples and family counseling. Additionally, DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) Skills groups for Adolescent Girls, Adolescent Boys and Adult Women. The belief is that you are doing the best you can with what you have. The approach is non-judgemental and effective, allowing you to feel comfortable and move forward with your goals. We also have play therapy, sand tray therapy, trauma and abuse therapy, autism and Asperger's therapy, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), CD Assessments. There are 8 therapists with many different specializations.

Are you experiencing some of the following challenges: difficulty with boundaries, asserting yourself, low confidence & self esteem? Having trouble figuring out how to hold onto yourself in a relationship? Negotiate conflict within it? Find yourself saying "I (or we!) deserve better" ... Life can sometimes be painful (especially relationships!), and things can feel tough. However, life’s pain can often be the necessary CATALYST for positive growth and empowerment! In my experience, growth requires delving into three distinct areas: PATTERNS Learning what you do, and why you do it. PROCESS Accepting and working through emotions. PRACTICE Applying insight to new behaviors and action. What I offer is unique: part therapist, and part coach. I am passionate about empowering clients through the challenges of life and relationships. You are the expert! I am a fellow traveller that brings knowledge and compassion to help guide your path of self-discovery, healing, intimacy and change. Many people encounter challenges in holding on to themselves in the relationships in their lives, and figuring out how to navigate communication, compromise, and conflict. Much of this stems from what we learned in the families we grew up in, which often bumps up against what our significant others have learned in their families. Our work together will shine a compassionate light on past family patterns, as well as current patterns, so that you are empowered with a choice: keep those patterns …or create new, more effective patterns.