page rutledge lcswWHY CHOOSE ME?

Because you want experience and expertise if you are going to make this investment.

Whether you need couples counseling or one-on-one for anxiety, make your time and money count. I see couples in conflict and individuals who struggle with anxiety.

Anxiety’s Self-Chatter

When you constantly anticipate dire outcomes, it can be paralyzing. From a scary job interview to a relationship you really want to work, how do you make that happen?

  • What if my boss/peers find out I really don’t know what I’m doing?
  • What if I have nothing to say to the person I’m dying to attract?
  • What if I can’t make it out of the grocery store before another panic attack?
  • What if I lose my lover or partner because I can’t please them?

When we are anxious, our chattering, noisy brains tell us these stories are cold, hard facts when they are simply masquerading as the truth. Let me help you with what works!

Couples In Conflict

Couples who seek my services are typically at their breaking point. There may be a past affair that has broken trust, unmanaged conflict, communication style differences, or sexual desire discrepancy (a very common issue). Or perhaps some education is needed on how to communicate effectively if one partner is neurodiverse. We are not born knowing how to do that.

Techniques I Teach You

  • I teach you how to down-regulate your panic/anxiety
  • Communication skills and coping measures to avoid escalation
  • I skip the psychobabble, and teach you to question unhelpful thinking styles
  • I don’t dwell too much in your past, keeping you future-focused on better choices
  • I assign helpful outside-the-session experiments or homework (it’s really not a bad word!) for both individuals and couples.

On to the professional credentials…

I am an education geek. Flat out. I hold two Masters Degrees, one in Public Health & Policy, and another in Clinical Social Work. I am licensed in North Carolina. I also hold Graduate Specialist Certification in Gerontology (the study of aging) and have undergone in-depth training on sexuality and desire differential with the Institute for Relational Intimacy. I have studied both Gottman and the Developmental Model of relationships. I am certified in clinical hypnosis and have over 200 hours of additional training in this therapeutic mode. I have published a number of articles in the Star News and the NC National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Newsletter. And I constantly read in my field and attend the latest findings in workshops simply because I love my work and I love to learn.