MEET VICTORIA, LMHC
You Don’t Have to Perform Here
Maybe you’ve already spent some time on my website. You’ve read some things that felt a little too familiar. Maybe you laughed. Maybe you felt called out.
Maybe you thought: “Damn. Why is she in my business?”
And now you’re here because understanding how I think about therapy is one thing.
Actually sitting across from me and telling me your business? That’s different.
Therapy can feel vulnerable, especially when you’re used to being the person who has it together. You may be wondering what you’re supposed to say. Where you’re supposed to start. How much is too much to share in the first session. Whether I’m sitting there analyzing everything you say.
You don’t have to do therapy “right” with me.
Come in. Get comfortable. We’ll figure out where to start, together.
There’s no pressure.
THERAPY FOR THOSE IN LAKELAND, TAMPA, MIAMI, AND THROUGHOUT FLORIDA
THERAPY WITH ME FEELS…connected.
I’ve been told I’m easy to talk to. Down-to-earth. Friendly. Clients tend to settle in pretty quickly with me, and I think part of that is because I’m at ease, too.
I’m not trying to create some perfectly curated persona and expecting you to respond to it correctly.
I’m human. You’re human. And we’re going to talk about some very human shit.
Sometimes that means you’re telling me something painful and I’m sitting quietly with you. Sometimes you tell me something you haven’t been able to admit and brace yourself for my reaction.
“I know this is going to sound terrible, but…”
You finally say it. And I’m sitting there like:
“Ok…that makes sense.”
Little chuckle. I get it. Understandable. And hopefully your shoulders come down a little.
Because you realize: Oh. I don’t have to sanitize myself with her.
You don’t have to make the story prettier. You don’t have to convince me that you’re a good person. And you don’t have to hide the parts of yourself you’re still trying to understand. We can work with the truth.
How I work
COMFORTABLE DOESN’T MEAN UNCHALLENGED.
Now, let’s be clear. Just because I’m not judging you doesn’t mean I’m going to cosign on everything.
You might tell me the whole story. Explain exactly what happened. Tell me what they did, what you said, and why you said it. And I might look at you, raise an eyebrow, grin a little and say:
“Now you know you were wrong…”
Because sometimes? You were.
Your feelings can be completely valid while your response to those feelings was unhinged. Both can be true. And I want us to be able to talk about both.
Therapy with me can be warm. We can laugh. We can joke. You can tell me the messy shit. But I’m not interested in being your yes-man. And I’m definitely not going to spend our sessions giving you generic, cliché advice you already know.
Set boundaries. Practice self-care. Try journaling. Okay.
But what does any of that actually mean in your life?
That’s where I’m interested.
I’m Not Your Coach. I’m Your Therapist.
There’s a reason behind the work we’re doing. Our sessions are grounded in evidence-based practices. I’m not just pulling shit out of thin air and hoping something sticks. We might look closely at a situation. What happened? What were you thinking? What were you feeling? What was happening in your body? What did you do? What happened next? What were you actually hoping would happen? And was your response effective in getting you there?
Sometimes we’ll look for patterns. Sometimes we’ll challenge thoughts. Sometimes we’ll build skills. Sometimes we’ll explore options you hadn’t considered.
And sometimes I’ll ask you a question and suddenly…
“…Oh.”
There it is. The lightbulb. And when that happens? I’m probably not going to rush in and explain your revelation back to you.
I’ll be quiet. I’ll nod. And I’ll wait.
You heard yourself.
Take a minute. Let it land. Then tell me what comes next.
I Trust You to Learn How to Trust Yourself
I’m confident in my clients. I believe you can learn yourself better. Not the version of yourself you think you’re supposed to be.
You.
I want you to learn how to recognize what you’re feeling. Validate yourself without needing somebody else to confirm that your feelings are allowed. Encourage yourself when something is hard. Comfort yourself when shit doesn’t go the way you hoped. Hold yourself accountable without tearing yourself apart. And offer yourself compassion without using compassion as an excuse to avoid growth.
Because ultimately, I don’t want you dependent on me to tell you what you think, how you feel, or what decision you should make. I’m not trying to become the voice in your head.
I want to help you hear your own more clearly.
The goal is for you to build a life that actually feels like yours and feel confident that you can maintain that life on your own. Basically?
I’m helping baby bird realize they have wings to fly.
And I’m good at that.
My Background
I Can Be Down-to-Earth Because I Take This Work Seriously
Being approachable doesn’t mean I’m casual about your care. My clinical career has taken me into people’s homes, schools, offices, community settings, and eventually my own private practice.
I earned my Master’s in Counseling and Psychology from Troy State University in Alabama, completing my internship in trauma and family therapy. Early in my career, I provided in-home therapy to families who had experienced various forms of trauma, along with individual trauma therapy for people across the lifespan.
I became certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and earned two credentials through the National Board for Certified Counselors: National Certified Counselor (NCC) and Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CCMHC).
And honestly? I was thriving.
From there, I became a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) and continued working with children and families through the Department of Children and Families, providing therapy in homes, offices, and schools before eventually moving into supervision. Later, I focused more specifically on children, providing direct school-based therapy to students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).
Then came another chapter.
I returned to adult-focused work, serving indigent and underserved communities and working with people experiencing chronic mental illness. During that time, I became credentialed in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Each chapter gave me something different.
Trauma. Families. Children. Adults. Schools. Community mental health. Supervision.
Different environments. Different needs. Different ways of understanding what people carry and what helps create meaningful change.
Eventually, I decided it was time to bet on myself. I opened my private practice.
And this chapter?
This work feels fun. It feels fulfilling. And the outlook is Fabulous.
Evidence-Based Doesn’t Have to Mean Personality-Free
My experience matters to me. My training matters to me. Evidence-based care matters to me. But I don’t think any of that requires me to sit across from you sounding like a textbook.
I can know what I’m doing and still be myself while I’m doing it.
I can laugh with you and take your pain seriously. I can validate your feelings and challenge your behavior. I can teach you something and leave room for you to teach me something about yourself. I can bring years of clinical experience into the room without acting like that makes me the ultimate authority on you.
Because it doesn’t.
I know therapy. You know you.
And some of our best work will happen when we bring those two things together.
HERE’S WHAT I WANT FOR YOU:
One: You Don’t Need Me to Have All the Answers
I don’t want therapy to become another place where someone else tells you how to live your life. You already have enough people with opinions.
I want us to get curious.
Two: Figure Out What’s Actually Yours
Slow things down when necessary. Look at what belongs to you and what doesn’t. Figure out what you can actually change. Recognize when something is working and when it stopped working three exits ago but you’re still driving because you committed to the route.
Three: Eventually, I Want You to Need Me Less
Because you’ve developed your own perspective. You know yourself better. You trust yourself more. You recognize your patterns sooner. You know how to support yourself through difficult moments. And when life inevitably hands you some new bullshit?
You know how to meet yourself there.
So…Are You Ready?
Listen. I know this is a big moment for you. You’ve probably put a lot of time, thought, and energy behind getting here.
Maybe you’ve been considering therapy for months. Maybe you’ve researched therapists. Read websites. Compared approaches. Opened tabs. Closed tabs. Reopened some tabs.
I know who I’m talking to.
And now you’re hovering over the button wondering: Is she the right therapist? Am I actually ready? Should I keep looking? I’m not going to make that decision for you.
Believe in yourself. Trust your gut. Go with what you feel is the right decision in this moment.
And breathe.
If that decision is to talk with me, I’d be glad to meet you.