Elizabeth McGinnis (She/her)

We all have an attachment style that leads to complications as we grow older. Whether you find yourself in a pattern of chasing your partner as you feel ignored, constantly feeling nagged by your partner, or just feeling sad and confused that your partner seems different and that you feel alone in your relationship, working on attachment can be helpful. Together we find new ways for you to express yourself, find connection, and invigorate your love and sex life.

No matter how you lose a child, you feel it. The entire act of being pregnant and of the loss around it is shrouded in silence and loneliness. We use the space in therapy to recognize that the loss was real, grieve for not only the lost child but also the loss of a future, and find your inner wisdom and compassion that led you to this time and place together.

In working with both abuse survivors and veterans, the best way to step into the future is to stay grounded in the present. Together we work together to heal and make sense of the past while letting go of the anxiety and fear of the future so you can start to enjoy your now. We begin by putting you in control of the pacing and creating safety. Then we slowly process the past to find the meaning and help your body let go of it's hurt. Finally, we rebuild trust and relationships.

Learning to identify, express, and share our feelings and needs can change both how we relate to ourselves and to others. When we don't know how we are feeling, how can someone comfort or reassure us? Together we find a way for you to not only know what you feel and need but also to trust in yourself enough to ask for it from your family, partner, and the world.

I use Imago therapy to help couples and families to lean into each other for their needs like comfort and reassurance. We begin by finding the ways that our partner has been there for us during the week. Then during session, a couple finds a way to both experiment and to experience having their partner open up and have their needs met in the moment.

All of us have parts that we don't like and that hold us back. Together we spend time finding these thoughts and feelings and learning to make friends and value these parts of us. In order to reduce our anxiety, we first have to acknowledge, recognize the value it brings to us, and accept that it will always be with us. Only then can we take control and make choices about our future instead of allowing the anxiety to take control.

Trauma messes with our bodies, heads, and hearts. Not feeling safe can make us feel constantly on alert, push people away, and look for anything that can help us to just relax and sleep. Therapy for trauma isn't about constantly reliving and retelling your story, it's about telling enough of it that your body can stop constantly trying to relive it, learning from it so your head can stop trying to constantly prepare for it, and letting it go so that your ready to love and be loved again.

Anger does a great job protecting us. It helps us keep people at a distance. It protects us from getting too attached and therefore disappointed. It helps us tell people how to treat us. It just also keeps us isolated and alone too. In protecting us, anger sometimes hurts other people and keeps us trapped in old ways of thinking and reacting. Therapy around anger isn't about judging yourself, it's about learning and talking with your anger so that we can make you more than just your anger.