“You are allowed to be both a masterpiece, and a work of art, simultaneously.” —Sophia Bush ‍ ‍

Aloha and welcome to my website! My name is Hollie and I am a therapist raised in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, currently living on Maui in Hawaii. I am an eternal optimist and see the potential in everyone.  I am also a realist and understand not everyone wants to or is ready to reach their potential—and those probably aren’t my people! My people tend to be the type that come in because they are losing their shit, and can’t understand how to get it back. My people have often tried SO MANY THINGS to heal, and yet still don’t feel ok. My people are often therapists, healers, educators—the folx in the trenches hustling to heal others while trying to remember to apply the same things they’re teaching to themselves. The ones who yearn for community and support but don’t have the time or resources to invest in it as much as their hearts want to because they are SO TIRED.

We only get this one life, so how can you live it to its fullest and be authentically you?  How can you stand in your own power and create the changes you seek in your life? How can you relieve yourself of the burdens you carry? I am here to help you figure that out. I have been trained in many different theories, as I was like Goldilocks looking for juuuuust the right one. After 25 years of doing this work, I have come to believe that there is no one size fits all theory, and instead I blend together the skill set I have acquired to create a healing journey that works best for you. My style is currently a mix of Brainspotting, Parts work (IFS informed) with a dash of Mindfulness, sprinkled with a bit of magic dust & basic strategies/coping skills.

Together we will work to create a deeper understanding & connection to yourself, your intuition, your past, your needs, your boundaries, your burdens etc. that you learn more and more about as you move through the therapy process. As you grow in one area, a new layer of growth potential becomes available to work with, and it evolves just as it should. Our time together allows you an opportunity to hold still, and figure out HOW to create the change you’ve been wanting in your life, so that you can experience more joy & peace every day. I am here to serve those who are ready to step into some version of their wisest self, tap into their own wisdom, understand how their past is influencing their present and learn how to trust themselves and their intuition. 

The kind of therapist I am and a little bit about why

“If we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane…”

—Jimmy Buffet

I was a shy and sensitive kid who struggled, with a Mom who watched a lot of Oprah and was open to therapy so I went to several different therapists throughout my teens & 20’s. I had some bad experiences, some damaging experiences and only one helpful experience.  The one helpful experience was a woman who was finally real with me.  She told me a bit about herself and made me feel comfortable opening up and being able to trust her.  I had a story that was walled in secrets and I couldn’t open up to a blank wall, I needed to know who this person was if I was going to tell those secrets.  This experience directly contributed to who I am as a therapist.  I want to know you, and in turn I will share a few things about my own life story.  I am extremely mindful of it being YOUR time, and keep my contributions short & relevant.  I work to earn your trust and provide a safe environment to open up in. I try to be the kind of therapist I would have wanted —genuine, safe, honest, nurturing, non-judgmental, engaged and supportive.

I LOVE to laugh, and that shows up in my work.  I can find humor in almost anything, and believe it’s a huge part of how we get through life.  My Dad taught me the art of dark humor as an openly gay man living his life out loud during the AIDS epidemic, which took his life in 1994. He and his friends laughed and lived and loved so authentically, and I was lucky enough to be in their orbit. Other side effects of hanging out with the brave elder gays of their time include a passion for social justice via protest and activism, a rabid voter and defender of human rights, a genuine affection for drag queens and extreme authenticity—I can’t not be me. So if our values don’t align, my face will tell you before my words do! My authentic nature may also include curse words, freely admitting to mistakes made, challenging you when I feel you’re capable of more or following my intuitive hits—even if they don’t make sense to me.

Things to mention about me—

I get excited every time I see dogs or cats in public, and they' are somehow ALL the cutest things ever. I have been involved in the rescue community in one way or another since 1999 and am proud to be doing my part here on Maui helping with the cat overpopulation issue by volunteering at sanctuaries and spay/neuter clinics—it’s my greatest passion! I enjoy quoting funny movies or tv shows, which definitely suggests I exist in a certain age group known for such things— on that note I am fluent in sarcasm and irony. I am always sipping on a beverage of some sort—most often water or tea, but also an ice cold Dr Pepper sometimes hits the spot. I adore Disneyland, and the reality I get to exist and refuel in, when I’m lucky enough to go. The ocean is the most restorative place for me, and rainbows make my heart flutter.

I was formally trained in multiple systems theories in grad school, which basically means we don’t exist in a vacuum all alone but rather within the context of the many systems that influence our lives.  The context of your life experiences can include many different things such as life events, family of origin dynamics, race, geography, socioeconomics, spirituality, hobbies/passions, education, medical issues, past traumas, relationships/friendships and the culture of the area and generation of the era you grew up in, and on and on.  The work of understanding yourself within your context never ends, but learning how to interpret what your emotions are telling you and how to solve your own problems gets easier with validation and practice.

I usually like to work fast to start creating change, and will end a session with something to reflect on or do—with a no pressure pep talk first.  You can’t do this work wrong, it happens at the pace it is supposed to happen at specifically for you.  I have no expectations and provide a judgment free zone for you to be completely YOU in.  Didn’t do the homework?  That’s okay, maybe it wasn’t right for you or maybe it wasn’t the right time.  We’ll just keep going until we find the right path and pace for you. My practice is full of healers, creatives and sensitive folx trying to figure out how to be their best selves, in a world that often encourages them to be someone they’re not.

Who I am a good therapist for

I provide a casual and laidback environment for those of us who are not fans of formality. If you want to laugh while you work hard and are ready for change, I might be a good fit!  I believe my clients are the exception to the general rule, the outliers if you will—the ones who don’t respond to the one size fits all approach. The ones who live with an eyebrow up and a big heart. The ones who ask questions and think deep thoughts and are moved by the things that everyone around them seems able to ignore.

My specialties include:

• tapping into your body’s innate desire to heal using Brainspotting

• breaking out of anxiety & guilt patterns that keep you from reaching your goals

• uncovering generational patterns so you can understand how the past is impacting the present

• being mid-life and saying some version of ‘WTF am I doing?’

• those who identify as Neurodiverse, Introverted, Highly Sensitive People and/or an Empath etc

I know it can feel like a big step to reach out, and I’ll try my best to make it easy. We can correspond via email, or we can schedule a phone call and spend about 15-minutes chatting and I’ll let you know how or if I can help.

Contact me via email at hollie@leadingtojoy.com or by phone at 808.868.8074

Work with Me

Online using a secure & confidential service called SimplePractice for telehealth video sessions

Licensed as a Marriage & Family Therapist in Hawaii, Oregon and Washington

$225   55 minute session             $250  85 minute session

Online Intensives

Intensives are tailored to meet your needs, using a gentle combination of Brainspotting and IFS informed parts work. Online intensives are done at a location that feels safe and private for you, perhaps your home or a destination of your choice. They are a minimum of 2 hours long, and up to 6 hours. Intensives can be a one time occurrence, they can continue over the course of a few days or they can become a repeat experience at whatever pace feels right to you. Each intensive experience is tailored to meet your needs and no two are alike.

Email hollie@leadingtojoy.com with some basic information about what you’re looking for from an intensive experience and we can see if it’s a good fit.

My intensives rate is $225 per hour, with minimum of 3 hours

Contact me via email at hollie@leadingtojoy.com

or

text at 808.868.8074