Get to know Holly
I'm Holly– and I’m so glad you’re here! As far back as I can recall, I’ve loved to talk. In fact, I spent the majority of my fifth-grade year isolated in the back of my classroom for excessive talking and was reprimanded for this in various ways throughout my education. This love of chatting helped guide me to my current career as a professional yapper.
I’ve also navigated my share of suffering and I know what it’s like to feel afraid, hopeless, and ashamed. I’ve experienced firsthand the isolation of infertility and the exhaustion of chronic health issues. I’ve lived the profound loneliness of an unhealthy marriage. I know the terror of a high conflict divorce in the family court system and have navigated the landscape of post-separation abuse. I understand precisely what it feels like to look at choices you’ve made with shame and regret– to lose your reputation, your identity, and your sense of self are all at once. I am well acquainted with the unique heartache of feeling deeply misunderstood by the very people from whom you desire the most understanding.
I also know what it takes to find your way to an authentic and emotionally fulfilled life.
Outside the Therapy Room
Outside of the therapy room, you can find me laughing with my five children, chattering endlessly with my husband, spending time outdoors, writing, enjoying delicious food and drink with dear friends, marveling at the moon, reading multiple books at once, collecting random rocks, and enjoying my rigid nighttime routine of too many chocolate chip cookies with an extra crispy sparkling water and an episode The Office in bed.
My Therapeutic Beliefs
As a relational therapist, I believe that relationships are the source of our deepest joys, as well as our deepest wounds. Healthy relationships require authenticity and steadfast emotional safety. That includes the therapeutic relationship. Research repeatedly shows that the most important predictor whether therapy will be successful is the quality of the relationship between the client and therapist.
As such, I bring my whole self to our work. I show up as a real, imperfect, messy human – not the blank slate that is often portrayed in pop culture. I’ve been known to make the occasional crude joke and I have a tendency to use, ahem, colorful language from time to time. I strive to provide each of my clients with a deep sense of understanding and empathy, an intentionally non-judgmental presence, and a bottomless reserve of compassion. Above all, I value authenticity. I believe that when we are our most genuine selves, we create a sense of safety for others to be the same.
I practice from a trauma and social justice informed perspective — which is a jargon-y way of saying that I believe the struggles you bring into my therapy room don't exist in a vacuum. The systems we live within directly influence our lived experiences and they are not neutral. Such systems directly impact who has access to education, healthcare, childcare, safety, justice, and more. They are built in ways that benefit some and harm others. I aim never to mistake the weight of those systems for a personal deficiency. When you sit across from me, I will always hold your full context. I won't pathologize what is actually a reasonable response to oppression or harm.