Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with
the darkness of other people. —Carl Jung
Hi! I’m Brittany…
I imagine you have a couple of questions before you will feel comfortable reaching out: a) How do I know this lady will get me? and B) How is she going to help me?
First, I do this work because I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to be lost in the darkness, feeling hopeless about ever finding the way out. I understand what it’s like to work through the most traumatic and painful experiences of your life. I do this work to “pay it forward” in an expression of gratitude for the support I received in finding my way out of the darkness. Now, don’t get me wrong, we won’t just follow the path I made for myself. Everyone’s journey is different so every map out of the darkness and pain is different. What I can offer is that we will find yours together. You don’t have to do it alone.
The most important thing I want you to know about who I am and how I work is that I believe that the therapeutic relationship is the most important thing about therapy. If we don’t have that connection, then it’s so much harder to do the life transforming work that can happen in the therapy room. This approach is shaped by knowing my own struggles to rise up out of the mud, and I have always appreciated therapists who were able to be “real” with me rather than cold, distant, and humorless. What you see in my office is what you would see in my everyday life. I am a deeply compassionate, empathetic person who holds sacred the trust you place in me to share this journey to healing with you.
I will get to my qualifications and background in counseling in a minute, but first…
As a psychotherapist with over 11 years of clinical experience, I have supported many people in working through the lasting effects of the painful experiences and patterns that continue to affect their lives. I specialize in depth-oriented work, meaning we’ll explore not only what you’re struggling with today, but also the deeper root of those struggles. In our work, we may explore the different parts of you that developed to cope with earlier experiences, parts that may still be trying to protect you, meet unmet needs, or prevent old pain from happening again. Rather than treating these responses as problems to eliminate, we work toward understanding them with curiosity and compassion, helping you develop greater internal connection, emotional flexibility, and more secure relationships with yourself and others.
I may also incorporate somatic approaches to help you notice what is happening in your body, build a greater sense of safety and connection, and work with the ways distress can be held in your nervous system. My work is informed by feminist and multicultural perspectives, recognizing how relationships, family systems, culture, identity, and experiences of marginalization shape our emotional lives. Therapy is not just about changing your thoughts or behaviors; it is also about understanding the environments and experiences that have shaped you. When we meet our experiences with understanding and compassion, we start to let go of responsibility and shame that was never ours to carry and make room for joy and authenticity. I especially enjoy working with neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ individuals and people living with chronic illness. My goal is to offer a space where you don’t have to minimize important parts of yourself to be understood.
Some Fun Facts: I went to art school before I decided to become a therapist. You can see some of my paintings in my office. I especially enjoy working with color and form to express emotion. I am a lifelong cat lady and lover of animals. If I didn’t go into counseling, I probably would have been a librarian.
Now for the more formal stuff. I am the owner of Lotus Wisdom Counseling Services and a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Supervisor in North Carolina (License # S11364). I received my master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Appalachian State University (2014). I also hold a bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Tennessee (2012). My approach is psychodynamic and grounded in attachment theory, with specialized training in structural theory of dissociation and parts work-oriented therapies, Developmental Needs Meeting Strategy (DNMS), and attachment-focused EMDR. I have a specialty in helping individuals who have experienced complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) as a result of childhood physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and working with individuals struggling with repercussions of growing up in invalidating environments, such as depression, anxiety, people-pleasing, difficulty setting and holding boundaries, low self-esteem, difficulty managing intense emotions, and coping with family estrangement and disenfranchised grief.