Hello, I'm Molly
"The body says what words cannot." Martha Graham
"Strength, courage, and wisdom; it's been inside of me all along." India.Arie
I know from experience that no matter where you are, it's never too late to begin again. Your thoughts, emotions, and sensations are intertwined. I use a somatic approach to mental health because it is experiential, accessible, and can be used in daily life. The brain-body connection is a powerful portal to your inner wisdom. My clients are usually frustrated with talk therapy alone and have complaints such as "I'm all in my head," or "there's trauma stuck in my body," "I don't trust myself," or "I don't notice my body or know what 'embodied' feels like."
I am passionate about you bringing your whole self to therapy. I enjoy helping clients (age 17 and up) who are are struggling with anxiety and depression related to ADHD, career, divorce, identity (gender, sexual, cultural, and otherwise), life transitions, loneliness, perimenopause, relationships, religion, sexuality, social media, and trauma. I provide somatic therapy using Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and Brainspotting. You can learn more about harmful experiences with religion, and somatic therapy here​. Contact me to see if we'd be a good fit!
More about me
I stumbled across the joy of movement and dance in 2011 through a holistic dance fitness class. Dance connected me to my body and emotions, and increased my sense of freedom and wholeness. I wanted to become a therapist and share how the body is a source of grounding, expression, insight, and integration. I was inspired by the vision statement, "To harness the innate wisdom of the body to liberate human potential" from the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute which trains licensed mental health clinicians in a culturally sensitive, body-based approach to trauma and attachment issues. Going back to school was made possible with some grit and an ADHD diagnosis that forced me to get help and see myself more compassionately. During graduate school, I used skills I had learned to help others as an academic skills coach for UNC-Greensboro.
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Before graduate school, I was a Hospital Response Volunteer for the Durham Crisis Response Center, helping survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault. I have worked in a number of different settings: I was an administrative assistant/office manager in a family law office for three years, I was a direct support provider to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities for five years, and I was a children’s spirituality coordinator for five years.
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MY CREDENTIALS
I am a National Certified Counselor (NCC) and a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate in North Carolina. I graduated with an M.S. in Counseling from UNC Greensboro in 2023, and was a member of the honor society, Chi Sigma Iota.
I have completed Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Level 1 training and integrate SP with Person-Centered and Gestalt Therapy. I am a Brainspotting practitioner and certified in Psychological First Aid. I offer Mindful Self-Compassion Meditations and Dialectical Behavior Skills to clients in session, but I do not offer "full fidelity" to the protocol of either modality. This translates to therapy that can fluidly move between somatic and cognitive-behavioral approaches, and is focused on helping clients tune into their authentic selves by grounding in the present moment.​
I am an avid consumer of research in the emerging fields of somatic therapy, religious abuse, and menopause. I have been counseling clients since January, 2022, and research the effectiveness and ethics of therapists working with religious abuse in order to improve outcomes for survivors. I presented this information at the American Mental Health Counseling Association as well as to clinician workshops in the region. My master’s courses emphasized cultural competence and included Trauma & Crisis, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Spiritual and Religious Issues in Counseling, and Human Sexuality. I received my B.A. in Public Policy Analysis from UNC-Chapel Hill.
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IN MY NON-COUNSELING LIFE
I am a Nia Black Belt instructor (fitness based in dance, martial arts, and mindfulness) and participate in Contact Improv workshops and jams. As a divorced and now remarried mom (and step-mom), I have been with my adult kids through their major challenges, identity exploration, and anxieties about "adulting." I love being an aunt to my younger nieces and nephews. I also enjoy traveling, concerts, movies and TV, and walking quietly through the woods. If I’m not dancing or visiting friends & family, you will probably find me on a porch with a cup of coffee.
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MENTAL HEALTH INSURANCE
I accept Blue Cross Blue Shield NC, Blue Home, Aetna, the State Health Plan, and can provide superbills to out-of-network clients. My hourly sessions are $125.
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Insurance makes therapy accessible financially...it also requires a diagnosis and a treatment plan. That means that in the first session I need a little extra time for an intake (75-90 minutes) to ask questions. While I follow a wellness model and am trauma-informed, this means that the first session or two I will probably be talking more than I usually do in hourly sessions. Intakes (with diagnosis and treatment plan) are $200.