College came with more than you expected
You began this experience full of anticipation. But now, things look a little different.
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Your schoolwork feels like more than a full-time job
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Your downtime is overrun with racing thoughts and a tense body
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You feel a nervous buzz on Sunday nights thinking about the week ahead
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You’re suddenly responsible for so much more, on top of keeping everything together for school
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You wonder if college is really helping you build the life you want
There's more than one way college gets tough
It creeps up when you sit down to start an assignment. It’s in the background when you’re with friends. It’s full force when you’re facing down a presentation. Sometimes, it gets so overwhelming that you just want to stay home and forget your responsibilities for the day. Other times, it’s the uncomfortable buzz that drives you forward but leaves you feeling frazzled.
As responsibilities mount, so does your anxiety. It’s not just the start of college. It’s having so much more to manage than you’re used to. You question if everyone feels this way or just you. You feel the weight of this new chapter on your shoulders and you’re not sure how to get out from under it.
It disconnects you from friends, family, and your school community. It may be the thing that keeps you home from class or stuck on the couch for a little too long. Getting up in the morning can be a challenge with your body often feeling heavy and drained. It’s hard to see what’s worth celebrating in your life and although you’re sick of feeling like this, it’s tough to know what to do about it.
Depression can narrow your world, making it difficult to see beyond how you feel right now and do the things that matter to you. The pressure to keep up with assignments, classes, and social life can add to the weight and make things feel hopeless.
Graduate school can be a whole different beast. Life often comes second to your studies. Endless reading and writing take up your free time, and you've missed important moments because of school. As the pressure to perform mounts, you feel incredibly under the microscope.
Somewhere along the way, it becomes harder to tell where "graduate student" stops and "you" begins.
Being an international student adds another layer. Building community on and off campus is a new kind of difficult. Being understood used to come naturally; now it takes effort. Even in a classroom full of peers, it can be unclear what's expected of you and how to succeed.
All the while, the stress of your visa lingers in the background. It's enough to make you wonder, "Do I really belong here?"
An exhausting combination– feeling keyed up and stressed out. You’ve always been the person who keeps everything together and makes the process look easy. In reality, you’re just keeping your head above water. Letting just one thing slip does not feel like an option, but you are tired of carrying it all.
For others, the anxiety of facing the day can be daunting. As the work stacks up, it feels safer to retreat. Due dates are missed, studying is minimal, and classes are skipped. This is not what you thought college would be and you’re not sure how to recover.
You don't have to do this alone
It’s possible to find your footing amongst the chaos of college. Working together, you will have a place where it’s just about you, not expectations or performing.
Therapy is your space to put everything down and just be. From there, we’ll explore what it looks like to move forward in a way that feels right.
Learn to make room for yourself again alongside the responsibilities school brings. Let what you value guide you through the tough parts of college and beyond.
How we'll approach therapy
Relational-cultural therapy
RCT appreciates how relationships shape who we are. This begins with our relationship, and my goal is to create a space where you feel comfortable showing up as your authentic self. From there, we can explore how relationships with peers, parents, professors, and even yourself affect how you move through life. There is also space to examine how messages from the world around you have influenced how you see yourself.
Connection, values, and presence are at the heart of the therapy I offer. To bring this to life, I draw from three main approaches: relational-cultural therapy (RCT), mind-body therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).
Mind-body therapy
Anxiety pulls us ahead and depression slows us down, making it hard to tap into what is happening right now. Mind-body therapy helps you to pause, breathe, and notice the space between you and your emotions. That space helps you tune into your body, notice the mind, and choose new ways of being in the midst of a demanding college journey.
Acceptance & commitment therapy
Everything is part of the human experience. That includes your joy, curiosity, and passion as well as your fears, anxiety, and depression. ACT invites you to befriend your whole self and move through your experiences from a place of understanding. We’ll also explore the values you hold and how they can guide your next move. From there, you can live in a way that reflects what matters to you.
Therapy for college students can help you...
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Connect with a specialist who understands the demands of college life
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Feel grounded and intentional in how you move through your semester
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Have a place to unload the stress, responsibilities, and relationship struggles that come with college
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Make room for yourself alongside everything college asks of you
College Counseling FAQs
If you are 18 years or older, yes. If you are under 18, counseling cannot be completely confidential from your parents. If your parents pay for counseling, they will be able to see charges to their credit card from “Wellward Counseling” and thus can know how often you come to therapy and how much it costs.
Yes. I specialized in working with college students during my counseling masters program. During my training, I focused specifically on working with school stress, the home to college transition, depression, anxiety, academic pressure, college and career, relationships, homesickness, and more. I also worked in a college counseling center for over five years where I grew my experience working with college students. I also have specialized expertise in counseling for the international student population.
I integrate relational-cultural therapy (RCT), mind-body therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in my therapeutic work. I believe that learning to work with what’s happening as opposed to against it helps you change your relationship with your experience. Through this work, you practice getting curious about what’s happening inside, accepting the moment without judgement, and moving toward what you value.
I currently accept United Healthcare, Aetna, ASR, CIGNA, BCBSM, and Medicaid. In-network status is currently pending with BCN, Medicare, Molina, Priority Health, and McLaren.
Yes. I have two sliding scale slots available at any given time. To qualify for a sliding scale slot, you must be making at or below minimum wage in Michigan.
Yes! You can join your sessions as long as you are in the state of Michigan. You just need to have your phone or computer, a stable internet connection, and a confidential space. Therapy is then only a few clicks away.