PERSON-CENTERED APPROACH
We use a holistic, existential, person-centered approach in our work with clients. We believe that YOU are the expert on your life and that YOU already have the answers for growth and healing within yourself. Our role is to be a guide, resource and supportive companion as we walk beside you on your life journey, and help you discover and nurture your inner truth.
"Each one of us has the ability to fully develop our innate capacity to live through an awareness of love, interconnection, and appreciation of life's unfolding. Beyond belief, beyond a cognitive story we tell ourselves, the awakened brain is the inner lens through which we access the truest and most expansive reality: that all of life is sacred, that we never walk alone." - Dr. Lisa Miller, The Awakened Brain
PASSION AND EXPERIENCE
Sriju has extensive experience working with children, adolescents, adults and families who have been affected by trauma. Trauma comes in many shapes and forms. It tells us lies about ourselves and the world that we tend to believe and internalize. Sriju's passion lies in helping unearth these lies and replace them with truths, so that we can live healthy, joyful and meaningful lives in community with others.
Prior to starting her own practice, she spent over three years working as a clinical coordinator and trauma therapist at the Collins Center, a local non-profit that provides comprehensive services to those affected by sexual harm. Before then, she worked as a therapeutic day treatment counselor at Skyline Middle School for three years, serving vulnerable children and families in the Harrisonburg area. She also has prior experience at a community counseling center in Austin, Texas as a graduate level intern therapist. She is trained in various trauma-informed treatment modalities including EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy), Sand Tray Therapy and TF-CBT (Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). She is a strong proponent of mindfulness based therapeutic interventions and finds personal meaning in exploring spirituality with her clients.
Claire believes that death and the grief that follows are universal human experiences, yet many people struggle to find space or permission to speak about them, which can deepen feelings of isolation. She believes grief deserves to be acknowledged and met with compassion. Through over 15 years in the field, she has come to understand that grief is not an experience to “fix,” but one to be openly processed with compassionate, nonjudgmental support. Claire holds a master’s degree in clinical social work, along with a master’s degree and certificate in thanatology (the study of death, dying, and bereavement). She is a registered supervisee in clinical social work, currently accruing hours toward licensure. She is trained in various treatment modalities including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing and Narrative Therapy. Over the course of her career, Claire has supported individuals and families navigating profound loss, including military families and those experiencing traumatic bereavement through the non-profit Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS).
