[To save prospective clients from unnecessary consideration, I want to alert you that I am available for Short-term Therapy only, as I will be leaving the Better Help platform in Mid-August. If your sense is that you have an issue or concern that can be addressed over a period of a few months, then please read on. Otherwise, I am not able to be of use to you.] My work has focused on families, and I love helping clients work through areas of conflict, misunderstanding, stress, and anger and arriving at improved communication, and a more confident sense of self and appreciation of their own abilities to make change and solve problems that arise. As a home-based family therapist, I worked with a wide variety of clients and their issues. I became more of a “jack of all trades” than an expert in a particular method of therapy. For me, that has meant being responsive to and learning about many different issues clients face, and utilizing a variety of approaches. My strengths as a therapist are in my ability to listen, and to help uncover patterns of thought and behavior that have not worked well for clients, and to encourage them to try different approaches. A core belief of mine is that the client knows him/her/themself best, and has the capacity to problem solve. I don’t “fix” people, I accompany them on their journey for a time, and offer support, guidance and insight as clients tell their stories. My role is to hold up a mirror and shed light on the dynamics and situations that clients bring into therapy. My approach is warm and direct. I appreciate the value of a sense of humor, while respecting the seriousness of client concerns. I am in my mid-seventies – a good euphemism for that is, “I’m a ‘seasoned’ clinician”! I went to social work school when my youngest child went to college. Prior to that I worked in a street ministry for urban homeless people; work that I loved, but also found grueling over time. As the parent of five children, and with a strong family life and focus, I found family work to be both a good fit and very rewarding. I have Certificates in Trauma-Informed Therapy, and in Drug and Alcohol Counseling. Attachment Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing are other areas of interest and were part of my advanced studies. Recently, I co-facilitated a support group for four years, focused initially on the needs of in-home family caregivers dealing with the ill-health of a partner or aging parent, then shifting to coping with parental relationships with adult children suffering from mental illness and/or substance abuse that prevented them from functioning well in the wider world without ongoing parental support.