Hey! I’m Nicole.
I can relate to what it feels like to be stressed out, burned out, and overwhelmed.
At a very young age, my family experienced a tragedy that left us all reeling. That event, along with the events and years that followed, affected how I moved through the world and how I showed up in my relationships. I was an awkward kid who became an observer of behavior and my sensitive nature left me on high alert all the time. During my childhood, I witnessed the pain of others and slowly realized that I sometimes instinctively knew how to help. While life continued to happen, certain experiences started to shape my worldview.
As I grew up, I didn’t know how to cope with the confusion of what happened to my family. I watched people live lives I wanted but didn't know how to get ‘there.’ Starting therapy when I was a teenager gave me hope, for the first time in a long time. (That, and a LOT of self-help books.) I started to envision a better life, believing things could be different but didn’t know what ‘different’ could look like or how to get it.
While I worked on finding my own way, with time and experience, support and practice, I was able to create a life where I could exist on my terms. In doing so, I realized that not only did I not have to ‘chuck it all in the f*ck it bucket,’ I could actually feel good - and empowered - about living a life I was proud of.
When we learn how to hold compassionate space for our needs, living with gratitude, optimism, and graceful self-acceptance becomes blissfully unavoidable. I hope you will find this space too.
I am comfortable with big feelings and supporting people as they move through them. I think humor helps keep some perspective, and I will be real about what I see and hear. It takes courage to be vulnerable enough to ask for help and I honor your choice.
Gloria Steinem once said the final stage of healing is using what happens to you to help other people.
Spoiler alert - That’s why I’m a therapist.
Who am I when I am not in the therapy role?
Mom to three, dog lover, coffee drinker, firepit starter, road tripper, distracted meditator, slow hiker, nature and water lover, Marvel fan, semi balanced yogi, social justice advocate, college faculty member, kitchen mess-maker with hilarious stories to match, and an authentic enough human trying to navigate this world, just like you.
Now that you know about the human side of me - here’s a bit about the therapist side of me, and what you can expect when we work together.
Being a therapist has reminded me, over and over again, that the most important part of a successful therapy experience is having a strong, healthy connection with the therapist you work with. Because of that, having a great relationship with my clients is priority number one when we start working together. I understand feelings and emotions that feel overwhelming, and I’m passionate about creating spaces where my clients feel absolutely safe to discuss the things that are most important to them. I believe so strongly in what it means to operate personally and professionally with integrity, while creating a space of safety and security for my clients, that everything I do, beginning with building a powerful relationship with my clients, is colored in by these values.
Through various clinical modalities, I help clients explore how they've been impacted by their experiences so they can build meaningful connections with themselves and others. I know, when people feel supported, heard, and seen while they explore their story, they not only discover the depths of their strengths - they heal. When we work together, I’ll show up with my whole self while inviting you to sit, lower your walls a little, and just breathe. And when it gets hard - because that’s where the work is - I’ll hang in that space of hard with you as long as you need. We’re a team, and we’ll do it together.
If you really want the fancy stuff - my therapeutic approach uses a combination of Relational Therapy through an Attachment lens. I often engage parts of mindfulness work with clients, along with elements of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. I am a trauma therapist with training in Accelerated Resolution Therapy and IFS-Informed, part of Internal Family Systems. I am Highly Sensitive and an Empath and can relate to that way of moving in the world. I have over 25 years of experience and am on faculty at a Philadelphia area University.
Therapy isn’t just talking about all the things in your life that suck and feel bad, just the same as it’s not just about learning coping skills. Those things are part of the process - but it’s also so much more. Imagine sticking with therapy, addressing the things that make you feel bad, but also celebrating when you have a win and talking about the things that bring you joy. You work on figuring out a plan for either resolving what issues you face or getting them managed, all while learning what it’s like to live well and on your terms…. Doing all of that leaves you:
No longer feeling alone
Creating routines you feel excited about
Having coping skills you feel confident with
Feeling less anxious, or not anxious at all about many thingsl
Being able to establish and maintain boundaries
Work through grief and other not-so-fun emotions
Making changes you’ve wanted for… forever
Building and maintaining self-respect and self-worth
And most of all - finally feeling relief because you were heard, validated, seen, and understood, all because you were brave enough to ask for help. You deserve to feel happy, at peace, and confident in the direction you’re choosing for your life, and I’m here to cheer you on, every step of the way.
I believe wholeheartedly that when we keep things down to earth, while using humor and making sure we laugh a LOT, it’s so much easier to be honest, practice self-compassion, and stick with the work when the work gets hard. The most humbling part of my job is being given the trust and the privilege to see the inner workings of another person’s life. Being able to build a connection with my clients, listen to their story and validate their experience, bear witness to their progress while being a real and reliable accountability buddy, and see the look in their eyes when they have a moment…. It won’t ever get old.
I believe you’ve always been your own best expert, and I can’t wait to get to shine a light on your brilliance. You deserve to walk away from therapy saying you feel fantastic, and go live life your way, being excited to show up to every new day.
If this sounds great to you - hit that button below, and let’s get started!