Meet Julia

I suspect you want to make sure I know what I’m doing.  I’ve provided information about my credentials and how I found myself in this (awesome!) job (which I love!) below if you’re really interested.

But, I also bet you’re interested to know if we’d work well together.  I believe that’s the most important focus on this page.  Therapy is about you, but it’s also about us and our working relationship.  The research has clearly demonstrated that the most important factor associated with successful treatment outcomes is… (drum roll, please)… the quality of the relationship between the therapist and the client.  

With that in mind, let me tell you a bit about the clients who have had the most success in working with me.  

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You’ve probably gathered by now that I specialize in working with people whose lives have been hijacked and limited by anxiety. When my clients come to me, they are flat out fed up with being afraid of their own future, with doubting themselves, and with acting out of fear rather than from a place of curiosity and excitement. So, my clients come to me motivated for action and ready to work.

And, I do not disappoint. I am an action-oriented, practical, skills-based therapist. I provide education. I want my clients to understand why they feel the way they do, what is contributing to their distress, and what is happening in their brains when they feel anxious (yep, we’ll talk neuroscience). I use that information to empower; my clients feel less afraid — and more equipped to tackle what I’ve suggested they do to feel better — when they understand what is going.

Loads of my clients get better and no longer need regularly scheduled sessions, although they’re more than welcome to pop back in if something comes up; this is, of course, our ultimate goal. How do we get there? I provide strategies for them to practice, which address the unique triggers and landscape of their experience of anxiety. And, they do their homework between sessions and they work really hard. Overcoming anxiety is very much about learning how to handle discomfort and to confronting the things that scare you. And how do we learn to handle discomfort? By voluntarily choosing to be uncomfortable and then practicing new skills to navigate it better… over and over and over again, with loads of support, guidance, and encouragement.

My clients who feel better continue to experience anxiety-provoking situations. It’s not that they don’t experience challenging situations in the future. And it’s not that we’ve ‘cured’ their anxiety. But, they learn and develop the skills necessary to effectively navigate future challenges in order to reclaim their lives. And you can too.

Along the way, I’ll guide and support you, and cheer you on. I’ll never shame you. I love to laugh, and I also love to effectively — and eloquently — use the choicest of words to illustrate my most important take home points. It is extremely difficult to offend me (teaser: I spent a lot of time in jails and prisons… as a psychologist providing services, not as an inmate) and I’m entirely comfortable to talk about the most sensitive of topics without judgment. (Having a GI / IBS specialty means I am quite comfortable talking about bodily functions (everyone poops, yes?), sex, and all the rest. Bring it. I promise to create a safe space to talk about it.)

My clients are the most amazing people… but they don’t know it. Through our work together, I get to witness them transform into the glowing, confident, curious, excited selves they discover themselves to be beneath all the self-doubt. It’s inspiring. Really. Truly. I’m energized by my clients’ growth every day. And, I’m honored to be able to assist them in this process of exploration and healing.

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Well… I wasn’t going to be a therapist; I was 1000% certain of that fact (read with ironic font, please).  

Early on, as an undergrad, I intended to become a forensic psychologist. And, being a planner and an overachiever, so I did. I obtained masters and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology — and an MBA to boot — from Widener University, in Chester, Pennsylvania.  

I then completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Cincinnati’s Institute for Psychiatry and Law; and, went on to launch a successful career as a forensic psychologist in private practice. I primarily evaluated criminal defendants regarding their future risk for violence, their sanity at the time they allegedly committed offenses, and their competence to stand trial (see, lots of time in jails and prisons), among other legally related questions, and testified in court as to my findings.

I wanted to become a forensic psychologist. I became a forensic psychologist. And, I practiced, quite successfully I might add, as a forensic psychologist for 10 years.       

So… what changed? 

I developed a yoga practice as a graduate student, and continued to practice — off and on — in the years following.  I signed up for a yoga teacher training, with no intention of teaching yoga or using the teaching skills professionally, but simply to deepen my own knowledge of yoga and to provide some consistency to my practice. (I love books. I love being in school. And I love to study, learn, and immerse myself in a topic, especially if I can do so in communion with fellow students.)  

But, during this training — which, I do not exaggerate, changed my life — I began meditating regularly. As I’d hoped, I dedicated myself to a regular practice of connecting to my body. And, I began to read and study the ancient yogic texts. I was shocked to discover that what the yogis had to say about emotional wellbeing and behavior echoed what I learned as a psychology graduate student. I was intrigued. I became fascinated by the connections and the overlap between psychology and yoga; I investigated further, taking lots of trainings in both therapy and yoga, fueled by curiosity, deepening my knowledge and expertise. This exploration led to a passion and enthusiasm I could in no way have anticipated for the transformative power of these practices in my own life, and in my ability to help others change their lives.  

So, I had a thriving, successful forensic psychology practice. And, it was still work I enjoyed. It would be ludicrous to mess with it, right?  

I’m so grateful I was able to get quiet and listen; to be flexible in my thinking and toward the almighty plan; and follow my curiosity and excitement.  

I maintained the forensic practice. And because I wanted to share the knowledge and expertise I had obtained — professionally and personally — with others, I launched a small therapy practice. I wasn’t sure I would like providing therapy, and I had no idea how this fit into ‘the plan.’  

Yet, within 18 months of seeing my first therapy client, I had phased out my forensic work entirely. I was hooked. Although I found my forensic work fascinating and fulfilling in its own right, I was inspired by the courage and determination, and ultimately the newfound confidence and freedom, of my therapy clients.    

I could see my own journey mirrored in their happiness and confidence. You see, my personal journey is, of course, encapsulated within the professional one. It is a joy to teach others what I have learned — and continue to practice, daily — in my own life. What I teach, I’ve learned myself, in my own heart, mind, and body. What I ask of you is ground I myself have traveled.     

I’d love the opportunity to talk with you to see if we’d be a good fit, to see if you and I would work well together.

E-mail or fill out a contact form to schedule a consultation and take the first step to More Life. Without Limits. Free from Anxiety.