Kristin treats a variety of individual concerns inlcuding (but not limited to) depression, anxiety, grief and loss, anger management, work stress, self-esteem problems, family / relationship stress, and general personal growth and enrichment. Kristin also address problems adjusting to various life changes such as the birth of a new baby, moving to a different state or community, a new job, loss of a job, a stressful medical diagnosis, starting college for the first time, retirement, etc.

Trauma Focused Treatment
Kristin has a special focus in trauma work, and beyond just being "trauma-informed," Kristin has training in understanding the neurobiological effects trauma. Kristin is certified in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

What is EMDR? 
"Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an extensively researched, effective psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from trauma and other distressing life experiences, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, and panic disorders." --EMDRIA
For more information about EMDR, visit the EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) web site and watch the informational video below. 

Sometimes fear or uncertainty about what therapy is or what the process will entail results in couples staying stuck in their negative patterns for far too long rather than seeking help. When this happens, the relationship can begin to deteriorate and greater damage can occurr, making it more difficult to correct the problems. The sooner you address the concerns, the better. There is no such thing as "too soon."

One of the most common reasons couples seek therapy is to improve their communication or learn to navigate conflict resolution more constructively. Sometimes the main goal is to simply enrich the quality of their relationship by improving the ways they interact and relate to one another. If you and your partner are having recurring problems with feeling unheard by one another, misunderstanding one another, or are finding yourselves arguing more frequently than usual, couples counseling can help.

When treating your relationship, Kristin is on your relationship's "side," and a primary goal is to help bring you as couple onto the same "side" as well. When partners learn to be on the same "side" with each other and to communicate effectively, they become much more able to negotiate solutions in ways that honor one another and their relationship and resolve conflicts effectively. This leads to improved intimacy instead of increased tension. 

Kristin is a trained PREPARE/ENRICH facilitator and may recommend the ENRICH program as part of your couples treatment. The PREPARE/ENRICH program is a rich and robust tool that lends considerable insight, direction, and structure to the couples therapy process. This will include a formal assessment tool completed online by each partner in the privacy of your own home. A report informed with the data of this assessment will be generated for Kristin and will help direct treatment by identifying both the strengths and the growth areas in your relationship. Kristin uses this information to customize your couples counseling experience, drawing your attention to the strengths you already have while also helping you attend to those areas where you need more specialized attention and support. Completion of the ENRICH program averages about eight to ten sessions. In some cases couples will choose to continue treatment longer.

The time-frame for a successful treatment process for couples can vary from couple to couple as it is influenced by many factors, including the duration and dynamics of a couple's problems and willingness of both partners to commit to the process.

More information about the PREPARE/ENRICH program can be found here:

Pre-marital counseling can be invaluable to starting a life-long relationship on a healthy foundation. Marriages in our culture are demonstrating a high frequency of divorce, and only a portion of those marriages that do not end in divorce are healthy and rewarding relationships. With such a high statistical rate of divorces and unhealthy marriages, there is also an increased chance that engaged partners have divorced parents or have never witnessed a healthy marriage. They may have no idea what a healthy marital relationship is and may repeat unhealthy relationship patterns in their own marriage. Marriage research has shown that the risk of divorce is significantly reduced and marriages are much more rewarding when they begin with solid pre-marital preparation to strengthen their relationship and establish healthy relationship skills before negative patterns and habits are established in the marriage.

Kristin is a trained PREPARE/ENRICH facilitator and uses the PREPARE program with couples for the pre-marital counseling process. Using this program, Kristin will explore with couples such issues and dynamics as compatibility, expectations, dynamics of families-of-origin, communication patterns, conflict resolution skills, and intimacy issues. Kristin offers pre-marital counseling "packages" which consist of  six sessions at a total reduced cost.

More information about the PREPARE/ENRICH program can be found here:

Kristin began her clinical training in Marriage and Family Therapy in 1998 and has worked with hundreds of families over the years. She understands family and "system" dynamics and how these dynamics impact a person's current functioning. According to the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), "A family's patterns of behavior influences the individual and therefore it helps to consider the family system as part of the treatment plan. In marriage and family therapy, the unit of treatment isn't just the person - even if only a single person is interviewed - it is the set of relationships in which the person is embedded." In some cases, Kristin may recommend that entire families come together for therapy sessions.

Family Therapy will begin with a thorough assessment of the issues and dynamics of your family. Kristin will likely use a genogram (a graphic picture, or diagram, of the family history) as an assessment tool for the purpose of understanding family relationships, patterns, and dynamics. Significant insights typically come out of this assessment process and help inform the treatment goals for therapy. In the therapy process, Kristin will explore family roles and rules and behavior patterns in order to identify issues that contribute to conflict. She will work with family members on their communication and behavioral patterns and will help families understand the dynamics in their family unit, express thoughts and emotions, and solve problems. Often the symptoms that one member of the family carries are facilitated by the dynamics within the family, and understanding (and sometimes changing) these dynamics can lead to a resolution of those symptoms.