Asheville Counseling Resources
Writing, Conversations + Resources
This is a curated collection of blog posts, media features, and resources for people who are ready to go deeper than coping strategies.
I write for smart, sensitive women who are tired of carrying too much; for men who want to connect more honestly with their inner lives; and for elders sitting with questions of meaning, loss, and what still matters. In other words, people who are ready to reclaim their energy, trust themselves, and create more ease in how they live and love.
I’ve been a therapist and counselor in Asheville for over fifteen years. This page is where I share my thoughts on life, healing, and the human condition. I also share podcast conversations I’ve been part of and my professional affiliations. If you’re exploring therapy in Asheville to support your relationships, emotional health, or personal growth, you’ll find grounded, depth-oriented writing here.
Asheville Counseling Blog
Relationships are my central preoccupation: how they go wrong, how they can go right, and what it takes to understand your own patterns well enough to change them. I write about the things that don’t often get named: emotional estrangement, the anger that lives just under the surface, the loneliness inside committed partnerships, the defenses we built for good reasons that now cost us.
I also write about complex trauma, depth-oriented therapy, and the ways we cope that can keep us stuck.
The Covert Passive Aggressive Narcissist
This past week I read The Covert Passive Aggressive Narcissist by Debbie Mirza, a life coach and author in Colorado. I have a significant amount of experience with covert narcissism and feel that this work is a solid exploration of how this mental health disorder...
The Engaging Therapist
Lately I have had a lot of talks with brave souls, reaching out for support as they endeavor to get clarity and work on themselves. During my free consultation by phone these individuals have expressed some desire about the type of therapist they want. "Are you the...
Asheville Holistic Therapy
The word holistic has become ubiquitous over the past ten years. But what does holistic therapy really mean? According to Dictonary.com, here's the definition of holistic: Holistic - (adjective) Incorporating the concept of holism, or the idea that the whole is more...
Transitions Are Tough
In the course of a human life-span, there are so many transitions to contend with. Most of us will transition, as children, from one school to another. Many of us will move from one home to another, sometimes it will be a 'big move' to another state. About half...
Sex Positive Therapy in Asheville
Asheville is such a wonderfully unique community. An oasis of open-mindedness and diversity amid an otherwise deeply conservative bible belt. In the abundant therapeutic community we have, your options for providers are many. When it comes to wanting to talk about...
Healthy Adult Communication
Confrontation: What It Is To face in hostility or defiance To opposeTo stand in front of/face to face Looking these definitions for confrontation, particularly that first one, it is easy to see why so many of us "avoid confrontation at all costs," a quote I hear...
5 Core Childhood Emotional Needs
According to Schema Therapy, all of the psychological problems we encounter as adults have their roots in childhood and adolescent experiences. Specifically, there are 5 Core Emotional Needs that all children have, and when those needs are not met, what results is any...
Psychological Needs List
The work of getting to know oneself is some of the most important work that we can do. A big part of this process is getting to know your own needs. We are in a time in our culture when we have grown accustomed to deferring to family, friends or the media to tell us...
What’s Your Metric?
So often in life we find ourselves in periods of reflection. Looking back, we contemplate our successes and failures in various aspects of our lives. When we do this, we open the door to the feeling that we’re coming up short; we’re not measuring up to our own...
Kristen Neff’s Self Compassion
I recently wrapped up my reading of Kristen Neff's book Self Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and found myself introducing my clients to ideas and exercises that I read about as I went through the book. Neff...
The Power and Pain of Vulnerability
In my psychotherapy practice, I often hear clients express their deepest longings and fears: "I'm afraid that I am incapable of creating meaningful connections in my life. I don't want to have to say what I really feel." "I'm afraid if I try to express...
Read moreWith the demands of domestic life we may lament our lack of time for formal spiritual practice. Let’s not forget, though, family life, if we exploit it, is spiritual practice of the most valuable kind – Sarah Napthali
Buddhism For Mothers
With the demands of domestic life we may lament our lack of time for formal spiritual practice. Let's not forget, though, family life, if we exploit it, is spiritual practice of the most valuable kind - Sarah Napthali I recently read Buddhism for Mothers: A Calm...
Media Features
USA Today + Asheville Citizen Times
In the days that followed Hurricane Helene’s devastation of Asheville in October 2024, I was interviewed by USA Today on the mental health toll of collective disaster: what it does to a community to lose so much at once, and what support actually looks like in the aftermath. Living and practicing here, this wasn’t an abstract conversation. It was personal.
Podcast Interviews
Women In Depth
I joined host Lourdes Viado to talk about one of the most quietly pervasive wounds I see in my practice: what happens to women who grew up without an emotionally present father. We explored how paternal neglect shapes a woman’s relationship with herself, her sense of worth, her patterns in love, and the particular grief of longing for something that was never quite there. A conversation for anyone who recognizes that wound, even if they’ve never had words for it.
Finding Your Way Through Therapy
I sat down for an honest conversation about what it means to be a therapist who also does her own work: why I believe it’s non-negotiable, what I’ve learned from being on the other side of the room, and how my own therapy has shaped the way I practice. If you’ve ever been curious about the person behind the practice, this one’s for you.
Work With Me
If you’re done carrying it all alone and ready for meaningful, lasting change, I invite you to take the next step. As your counselor, I would be honored to support you.
Whole Self Therapy® PLLC
Serving individuals in Asheville, across North Carolina, and in Florida via telehealth.