About Luna
Therapy Perspective
My practice focuses on working with adults struggling to find a sense of value in life or relationships with others. There is no one way to accomplish this task, so my work is to help my clients find their own path in life and offer support along the way. Working collaboratively and in a thoughtful relationship, I offer my clients a safe place to explore their lives more difficult stumbling blocks. I help my clients find detours around those stumbling blocks and build the skills and confidence to overcome and eliminate them. My primary approach is Existential Humanism, which emphasizes the universal experiences of being human, including managing suffering, experiences of isolation, creating meaningful relationships, and finding one’s true purpose.
Education
Johns Hopkins School of Education
M.S. in Mental Health Counseling
Goucher College
M.Ed. with specialization of At-Risk Youth
Graduate Fellow
Sarah Lawrence College
B.A. with a concentration in Writing, Popular Culture, and Religious Studies
Why do most people come to a therapist in the first place? Because they want a better life. It’s a brave thing to do- to realize that you want more for yourself and to take the step to begin making that wish a reality. Sometimes people come to me with a specific problem, and sometimes just because they’re tired of feeling disappointed with life. Whatever the reason, we begin the process by sitting down together and looking at what is bothering you. After an hour, if you find that I was helpful, you come back again the next week. Most people come back- it’s worth a shot, right?
I work from a positive perspective. Rather than saying that I "treat depression" or "work with clients with anxiety, “ I frame my therapeutic work as being about building fulfillment, happiness, and a sense of contentment and peace in clients' lives. In my work with clients, I pull from a variety of therapeutic frameworks and techniques, but the core message and goal is constantly surrounding issues of personal acceptance, growth, and positive change. Working with me in therapy requires courage to face issues that are painful. This requires me to have compassion and understanding, so that clients feel safe to move into, and eventually past issues that serve as roadblocks in their lives.
I work best with people who are trying to step forward into making positive changes in their lives.
This can show up in many different ways- some people are in the process of questioning some of their relationships, some are feeling frustrated and disappointed in dating, others are lost in terms of career choice, or overwhelmed by all of the obligations in their lives, many are simply struggling with finding balance in being proactive in life while still enjoying the present, or just generally feeling a sense of dissatisfaction and questioning. I find that my clients are willing to be honest with themselves and with me, and they take an active role in beginning to live the life they want to live.