Brenisen Wheeler MA, LADC, Pre-Licensed LPCC, Expressive Arts Therapist (She/Her)
MEETING YOU WHERE YOU ARE
Seeking support outside of ourselves by reflecting inward is a courageous act. Informed by our experiences and relationships, it is common to feel stuck, lonely, uncertain, disconnected, and discouraged. You are not alone and you do not need to continue to carry this weight in the same way you always have.
Together, I hope to support you in transforming “stuckness” into a bridge from the person you were - to the person you are and aspire to be. This could involve gaining insight into negative thought patterns that fuel painful emotions that lead to undesired behaviors and working together to create more helpful thoughts that promote healthy relationships with self and others. This could also be paired with teachings about the nervous system and what can bring you out of your window of tolerance and into a constant state of overdrive and people pleasing. Through co-creating a safe and trusting therapeutic relationship, we can practice connecting to the present moment in session through regulating together with gentle movement, body scans, and guided breathing to cultivate a deeper connection and understanding of the body.
My compassionate yet direct style of relationship-driven therapy is rooted in exploring limitations to presence, embodiment, and authenticity in noticeable and tangible ways.
WHAT I CAN HELP WITH
Perhaps these limitations are experienced as self-criticism, ignoring your own needs, challenges trusting self or others, barriers to feeling safe, emotional dysregulation, feeling disconnected from your body, the present moment, and others, and other longstanding survival techniques that now hurt more than they help. These limitations can show up as anxiety, depression, trauma, and grief. I am dedicated to walking alongside you and supporting you in paving a path back to your compassionate self by expanding beyond these limitations. This could look like increasing awareness of stories that are holding you back or keeping you stuck. We can challenge these scripts about identity and expectations by using expressive arts to cultivate the self-trust and creativity to act in alignment with your true values and goals. It could also include co-creating an emotional regulation toolbox. Lastly, we can build on self-confidence and self-respect by practicing interpersonal skills to support you in navigating challenging conversations and upholding boundaries.
HOW I CAN HELP
As a queer, Chinese American cis-woman and transracial adoptee, I deeply value client agency and choice through utilizing non-carceral, intersectional, and harm-reductive approaches. I have experience weaving various evidence-based therapies together in a way that is practical and relatable through skills training and activities between sessions. I firmly believe in the transformative nature of the therapy process and have witnessed the journey of clients coming home to themselves in powerful, liberating ways. I’d love to connect and learn if I would be a match for how you’re seeking to grow. Outside of therapy, I can be found brewing my own kombucha, practicing yoga, bird watching, and crafting.
Specialties: Adoptees, BIPOC, mixed racial identities, LGBTQIA+, domestic and sexual abuse, interpersonal trauma, adults, anxiety, depression, life transitions, identity exploration, neurodivergence, social anxiety, perfectionism, people pleasing, adult children of emotionally immature parents, anger management
