Ready for a change?
Hi! I'm Kathleen. I'm a therapist based in Northwest Philadelphia. I work with people who are struggling with anxiety, depression, people-pleasing and difficult life transitions. I offer therapy both in an office setting and outdoors at Wissahickon Park for "walk-and-talk" therapy.
I know what it's like to feel imprisoned by anxiety, depression and "shoulds"—to have an inner critic so loud and persistent you feel like you're drowning. I've been there. And I know it can feel like the only way out is to try even harder, to grit your teeth and just do better already. But I also know how exhausting that is, and that it never seems to last.
The type of therapy I practice, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), supports people in changing their relationship to inner struggles and finding new ways of "being" that free you up to breathe and just be yourself. You can begin shifting away from the rigid control tactics that don’t work on your emotions and instead embrace your emotions and inner experience in a way that fosters true growth, flexibility and peace.
Specializing in Anxiety Treatment, Depression and People-Pleasing
Anxiety
Escape your minds' "hamster-wheels" of doom and find relief from all the noise in your head that leaves you feeling tense and overwhelmed. Connect with your emotions and sense of self in a deeper way that breaks through anxiety's grip on your life.
Life transitions
Navigate the stress and change of life transitions flexibly, coming out the other side more "yourself" than when you started. Get to the root of your fears and learn to face them as friends, empowered to own who you are and know how to be "you" even in new and challenging circumstances.
Depression
Break free from the tyranny of negative self-talk and "shoulds" that clutter your mind and steal your energy. Get to the root of what's bothering you and create space to breathe and feel like yourself again.
Relationship Issues
Get to the source of your reactivity and work on the heart of what's keeping you in difficult cycles. It's easy to just address the symptoms of relationship issues, but often deeper fears and hurts--once addressed--make a more efficient, meaningful and healing impact.
People-pleasing
Find the inner peace and confidence to welcome your needs in your decisions. Learn how to handle fears and insecurities that show up when you set boundaries, and lower the emotional stakes on situations where you need to say no.
Ecological grief
Sometimes our problems are external to us, but the pain they cause is certainly not. Ecological grief and anxiety are hard to speak about and to process. Together we can honor your grief and move through your anxiety while still living out your values.
Why in-person therapy?
While I offer virtual sessions when it works better for my clients, my preference with most clients is in-person therapy. And, almost all of my clients choose to meet in-person at my office in West Mount Airy or via walk-and-talk at the Wissahickon.
Is in-person therapy right for you?
- do you feel tired of being in front of a screen all the time?
- do you sense that you'd be more present or open if you went to therapy in-person?
- do you need a break from being in your house or at your office?
- would you enjoy being able to spontaneously either go for a walk in therapy or get out a big piece of paper to draw something out (e.g. a cycle you're stuck in) together?
- do you just have a gut feeling that you'd do better or grow more if you went to in-person therapy?
If the answer to these is yes, in-person therapy may be a great option for you!
As a therapist, I value meeting with clients in-person for reasons it's hard to articulate. There's something more real and human about it. There are subtle things both I and the client pick up on in-person that I'm not sure we would over Zoom sometimes. And, many clients describe it as such a refreshing alternative in a world that's increasingly glued to screens and disconnected from real connection with one another. I make it a priority to offer in-person therapy and in fact don't work from home unless it's a special circumstance. So, if you're in therapy with me, you're welcome to meet in-person anytime.
Where we can meet:
In office in West Mount Airy
Meet at my sunny plant-filled office space on Germantown Ave in the heart of West Mount Airy.
At Wissahickon Park for walk-and-talk therapy
Let nature and movement deepen your therapy work by walking as we talk at the Wissahickon.
A combination of in-office & outdoor
We can also start at my office and walk from there around the neighborhood and nearby trails.