Included for therapy clients
What is included as an active client or once we have started therapy together:
Flexible Scheduling
Once we begin working together, you’ll have access to flexible scheduling. I respond to requests to book or move a session within 24 business hours, unless I’ve shared otherwise (e.g., during scheduled time off) and I can typically accommodate a time that works within a week of your request. You’re welcome to reach me through your client portal, by email at my @mindfulscape address, or by text. Calls are by appointment only.
Companionship in Your Mental Health Journey
Therapy is unique in healthcare in that we have a full hour to meet per session typically occurring once a week or once every two weeks over the course of months or years. This provides plenty of room to explore and adapt together. As a clinical social worker with advanced training in psychotherapy, I bring a wide lens to our work together, considering psychological, biological, and social factors that shape your experience. You can feel confident in bringing in anything in a session that feels important for your mental health even when it may not, at first glance, connect with your reasons for therapy initially or with previous sessions.
Therapy Letters
Mental health accommodation letters within my scope such as for work or for your place of residence are included at no cost with a therapy appointment that assesses the necessity and purpose of this letter.
Support Between Sessions
With your consent and awareness of the privacy risks, I’m available for messaging during business hours. This includes any additional information that supports your therapy process or handling any billing-related concerns that come up to ensure financial stress does not complicate our sessions. If we find that these exchanges require more than 30 minutes of time between appointments, I’ll offer the option to move up our next session.
Building Your Support System
Sometimes, bringing in a partner or family member to a session can significantly support you outside of therapy. This is optional and the focus remains on your well-being. If we determine that the relationship may at times be in conflict with your individual needs, I may refer you to a provider who specializes in couples or family therapy to further navigate this complexity. In the past, I've also noticed loved ones, after getting a sense of what therapy is like, may also become motivated to pursue their own individual care which as a byproduct can help strengthen the support they can provide.
Improved Access for Continuity of Care
Should you decide to restart, you may reach out directly via my @mindfulscape email and skip consultation. I tend to keep some flexibility in my schedule for returning clients. In some cases based on my capacity and your reason for returning, I may explore with you other options.
Outside Resources
Here are resources that I have found helpful over the years. I do not promote any of these resources due to any compensation. Clients and colleagues, you are welcome to let me know if you have any negative experiences or feedback of these outside resources.
Resources for Trauma
The following are resources I recommend for individuals navigating trauma, especially complex or developmental trauma.
Books and Podcasts
Healing Developmental Trauma: How Early Trauma Affects Self-Regulation, Self-Image and the Capacity for Relationship is written by the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM therapy) Creator and International NARM Institute Senior Faculty, Laurence Heller, PhD and The Practical Guide for Healing Developmental Trauma was written by North American Complex Trauma Training Center Director, Brad Kammer, LMFT. These books help define the patterns and survival strategies shaped by complex trauma and Complex PTSD to support awareness and agency. They’re also a good companion to the NARM work we may do in therapy.
The Transforming Trauma podcast hosted by Emily Ruth McIntosh, LMFT features conversations with trauma experts from various modalities, all viewed through a NARM lens. It’s a helpful way to explore different approaches to healing while grounding in a shared understanding of complex trauma.
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk, MD and Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma (pdf) by Peter Levine, PhD offer a foundational look at how trauma lives in the body. While somatic responses are often more obvious with PTSD or “shock trauma,” they also significantly affect the experience and symptoms of complex trauma. NARM was developed by and draws faculty from Somatic Experiencing therapy model with its cognitive (top-down) and somatic (bottom-up) approaches integrated within a therapy session.
Other Therapy Models
Some clients ask about other well-known approaches, like EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) for PTSD or IFS (Internal Family Systems) for complex trauma. Personally and professionally with clients and colleagues who are more aligned with the therapy I provide, I’ve found these models can sometimes feel too structured or cognitively driven, and may limit organic and holistic exploration.
Medication and Psychedelic Integration
Research on the use of ketamine and other psychedelics for trauma treatment is growing. While I do not administer medication or psychedelics, I’ve supported clients in integrating these experiences into therapy. I also consult with colleagues academically trained in this area, as needed, to ensure the support I offer is informed and responsible.
Peak Experiences
Following my mention of psychedelics, I’ve seen how external catalysts in the form of intentional community time, adventures in creativity, or purposeful travel outside of one's comfort zone can be mind opening and somatically expanding. These moments of aliveness may subdue the effects of trauma while creating new territory that allows for growth post-trauma. Realistic opportunities or options for peak experiences can be explored in a session together.
You can read more about my approach to trauma therapy and NARM in the More Information section of my site.
Resources with a Collective Lens
These resources center the broader social, cultural, and intergenerational contexts of trauma.
Like many therapists who work with complex trauma, I am aligned with the work of Gabor Maté, MD. While he has developed his own model called Compassionate Inquiry, I’ve found NARM to be more developed in terms of clinical training and application. Interestingly, Gabor endorses NARM as a modality for trauma healing. I tend to more recommend his books and recorded talks, which are widely available and offer a systems-level yet personal understanding of trauma, addiction and other maladaptive coping, and societal disconnection.
More recently, I've noticed how Gabor is more visible in connecting with work that focuses on indigenous wisdom and psychology such as those of Darcia Narvaez, PhD and Wahinkpe Topa authors of perhaps my favorite book on collective healing, Restoring the Kinship Worldview. He’s also been active in communities like SAND (Science and Nonduality), which are communities evolving to incorporate ancestral and indigenous knowledge to support mental healthcare.
For those curious about their own ancestral lineage and cultural roots, whether they identify as BIPOC (black, indigenous, or a person of color) or white, I recommend the workbook Ethnoautobiography, Stories and Practices for Unlearning whiteness, Decolonization, Uncovering Ethnicities by Jürgen W. Kremer and River Jackson-Paton or the this free article by Jürgen introducing this work. While it may seem divisive at first glance, it is an accessible way to consider how each person is uniquely indigenous to planet earth and provides exposure to a shared responsibility for a healthier and more authentic relationship with the world around us.
Lastly, I often recommend Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World by Vivek Murthy, MD former U.S. Surgeon General. Though it doesn’t explicitly focus on trauma, it speaks directly to how loneliness, disconnection, and the fragmentation of modern life contribute to rising rates of mental and emotional distress. His work offers a public health lens on something many clients already feel that the environments and the society we live in deeply shape our sense of safety, belonging, and meaning.
Resources for ADHD
Like many conditions, ADHD arises from a mix of nature and nurture. I often recommend Scattered Minds by Gabor Maté, which explores how trauma and early environment can influence the development and expression of ADHD.
While upbringing and context matter, I’ve found that the most effective treatment for ADHD usually combines behavioral and lifestyle changes with medication. Medication often addresses the neurological or biological components more directly, while therapy and environmental help sustain meaningful change.
Before starting medication, I suggest working with a psychiatrist, MD who specializes in ADHD, a psychotherapist (such as myself) for longer-term and more nuanced support, and, if possible, a psychologist trained in neuropsych testing for a more detailed ADHD assessment. A neuropsych is not required for diagnosing and medication, but is best practice to recommend especially for those who are concerned about other co-occurring neurological issues. You can learn more about ADHD diagnosing in the More Information section of my site.
At this time, I don’t have specific neuropsychologists I refer to directly. However, many well-reviewed providers can be found online. Those who do not accept insurance or accept private-pay only often have more availability. If you're using insurance, I recommend contacting your insurer directly to explore your options. As with therapists, the quality and specialization of neuropsych professionals can vary.
For medication access, I've learned of success connecting with providers with Circle Medical since appointments are often quick and accessible which works well with therapy that allows more room to process medication effects. Other online psychiatry services include Done. and Talkiatry. These can be useful, especially in areas like Austin, TX, where local psychiatric providers are limited and may not specialize in ADHD, which can impact the range of medication options offered.
If you're preparing for a medication consult and want to go in well-informed, I recommend Russell A. Barkley, PhD’s comprehensive Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, A Handbook for Diagnosis and Treatment, along with relevant episodes from Huberman Lab, which explore the neuroscience behind attention and executive function.
Behaviorally, many people, myself included find body doubling to be a highly effective tool. Platforms like Focusmate, Focused Space, and Caveday offer this on demand. And of course, there is ChatGPT with its memory system as another way to support accountability with behavioral changes. Therapy can be a place to check-in with the use and effect of these tools, and to explore how to adjust to better align with the way you naturally work.
Misc Resources
If you’ve worked with me long enough, you likely know that beyond therapy for complex trauma and ADHD, I value exploring creativity, self-actualization, the authentic self and relationships, and environmental stewardship for future generations.
Here are a few resources I often recommend that speak to this:
Hidden Brain - A long-time favorite of mine. With rich storytelling and thoughtful interviews, this podcast brings mental health and psychology topics to life in a grounded, accessible way.
The Creative Act - This book, which is also great as an audiobook, invites a rethinking of creativity as something essential and human, not just artistic. It’s especially helpful for uncovering new ways of seeing and being.
The Psychology Podcast - This show focuses on personal development and self-actualization through interviews of experts in psychology and mental health and often highlights strengths and growth rather than pathology.
Myers-Briggs & 16Personalities - Though often debated, I find that personality testing when used with curiosity and care can help us recognize and appreciate different ways of being. I completed the official MBTI certification years ago, but have grown to prefer accessible tools that have further developed in community like 16Personalities for viewing identity in this lens.
Intergifted - This website can be an introduction to the concept of giftedness and also twice exceptionality or 2e which all fits under the umbrella of neurodiversity. They also have a podcast called Gifted Trauma.
Women Who Run with the Wolves - A poetic, myth-informed exploration of feminine archetypes and wisdom. It can be particularly helpful for mothers and female caregivers wanting to reclaim their full identity as women. Best read with awareness of its cultural and historical context.
The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work - This book offers a practical, research-based guide for couples who want to build or repair partnership. While not trauma-specific, it pairs well with trauma-informed individual and couples therapy.
Paired - Some of my clients have used this app and found it helpful for deepening connection in a convenient way through texting and journal prompts that is accessible to both partners.
Good Inside - Created by psychologist Dr. Becky Kennedy, this book, community, and podcast offers support for parents navigating the complexities of raising children that goes deeper than behaviors.
Buy Now - This one may be more provocative, but it offers a valuable lens on consumerism and its psychological impact, both individually and culturally. It invites critical reflection on how the systems we live in shape our mental health and our choices.
More to Come
I’ll continue adding to this list over time and may also post on my Instagram @mindfulscape. I believe that mental healthcare can come from many different directions and sources, and can be integrated and centered through consistent individual therapy.
Spaces in Austin, TX
Google Map Lists. Spaces to reconnect
with community and nature.
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Indoor community spaces
Nature spaces, small parks
Nature spaces, state parks