Avalie believes each person is the expert in their own life, so therapy with her happens on your terms, always. She will gently encourage clients to step outside their comfort zone, because growth is often a little uncomfortable, but clients are always the ones in control of their own healing, which looks different for everyone. An important part of the therapeutic process to her is breaking down the natural power dynamic between clinician and client by taking the time to truly know the person in front of her.
She specializes in trauma and PTSD, A(u)DHD, and work with adolescents and the LGBTQ+ community. However, she also treats anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, adjustment and acute stress disorders, and diagnoses not listed here, with the exception of OCD, eating disorders, and personality disorders (which often benefit from targeted treatment utilizing specific modalities). Her approach is person-centered, strength-based, trauma-focused, neuro-affirming, LGBTQ+ affirmative, kink-aware, sex-positive, and culturally sensitive. She draws on CBT, DBT, mindfulness, motivational interviewing, compassion-focused, and harm-reduction approaches, though believes it’s a clinician’s job to tailor the modality to the client, not the other way around.
Avalie loves showing clients that therapy doesn’t just have to mean sitting and talking about feelings. As such, if clients are interested, she has found success incorporating play (yes, even for adults!), creative expression, and other experiential interventions, adapting each one to the individual. She also enjoys running experiential therapy groups, open to anyone whether or not they see her individually.
As an abolitionist therapist, Avalie does not believe in involving police in mental health concerns, and she treats hospitalization as an absolute last resort. If she ever needs to break confidentiality, she will always do everything she can to talk with the client first. This also means she believes in the necessity of authenticity, and as such, she is openly autistic and part of the LGBTQ+ community.
