Gamers and nerds hold a special place in my heart. These are the people I hung out with (and continue to hang out with) and who I am. Having gamers and nerds so close to me, I see the difficulties in attempting to connect with someone who doesn’t “get it”, or who see our interests as “childish”. I want to offer a space to share your love of stories and find new doors and options in your life. Initially, I did not like the term “nerd” because of some negative connotations towards that demographic. But, in my scouring the internet, I found this wonderful blog post that I connected with (resource at the bottom of the quote).
Many definitions exist for what it means to be a “nerd” or a “geek.” I am partial to the definition Wil Wheaton gave when asked to describe it to a baby, namely, that it means to love something and to be excited to share it with others. This definition includes all of the hobbies, interests, and loves that someone can accumulate in their lifetime. However, many of these interests have been labeled as “childish” or “inappropriate” for adults; in the past, this has led some people to hide or abandon their passions. More recently, tabletop and role playing games have experienced a resurgence in interest as people are looking for ways to spend time with friends and family.
https://www.wavespsych.com/blog/gamerpride
I love stories! Whether you’ve got a favorite TV show, movie, anime, manga, book series, and/or video game, you have something you are passionate to talk about it and want to share with other people! These stories make a huge impact on our lives and we carry them with us into our everyday lives. (If you get me talking about Gurren Lagann, Scrubs, or (more recently) Demon Slayer you’ll find how much of an impact they had on me). I’m the person whose gym playlist is brimming with anime openings and endings!
Life gets hard, and we can forget how our important stories could help us through life’s challenges. I want to bring those fandoms and passions into the therapy room to be utilized and revisited to see how they can help you with what you are going through. Stories offer a wealth of possibilities that can allow us to be creative and discover new parts about ourselves!
But, like our favorite characters and heroes, our lives are filled trials and hardships.
I work with people who may be going through some of the following: grief, anxiety, social anxiety, depression, life transitions, burn out, relationships, relationships with technology.
I want to offer a hand in saying that you do not have to go through your difficult times alone. I want to offer my support and experience to help you get through whatever is going on in your life. Whether its the old sage in a one off town, the support/cleric role, or a janitor that is there to listen, however you think I would be helpful, I will do what I can to help.
I know the importance that stories can have one someone’s life and I want to hear about your important stories and what they mean to you! I want to incorporate these stories into therapy and work together with you to help you create your own story.
For those searching for therapy for someone else and your loved one may be resistant to therapy, in my experience, therapy has been more effective when working with someone who would like change. If you think I would be a good fit for your loved one, it would be more productive to support you with helping them. I also support loved ones of gamers, geeks, and nerds in understanding them and how to relate to them in a more effective and loving way.
I work with anyone ages 16 and up who would like to enter into therapy.
