Psychology, Mental Health, and Social Work Consultation for Writers and Novelists
Write realistic emotional scenes.
Deepen your understanding of your character's complex psychology.
With 25 years working in mental health and social service and over a decade of writing experience, I have discovered a great joy in working psychologically with your fictional characters!
I offer several options for consultations for writers, novelists, or for artists working on creative projects involving mental health, trauma, or other psychological components.
Write with informed sensitivity about:
Mental health including: typical presentation of mental health diagnoses, relatable character interiority, relational dynamics, and likely impairments in functioning that can lead to high stakes
​Child welfare: write realistically about the social work, foster care and adoption systems
Addictions and maladaptive behaviors: Learn about classic addiction cycles, maladaptive coping strategies to incorporate into your character's lives
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Therapy: Write realistically good or realistically bad therapist scenes, walk away from the "how does that make you feel" therapist trope and develop interesting therapy interactions that enhance your story
Family dynamics: Dive deeper into complex family constellations, explore the struggles and roles of each family member, use generational trauma and classic "dysfunctional family" dynamics to create high tension scenes.
Grief and loss: Bring emotional depth to your character's struggles with death, dying, break up and life's struggles
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Trauma: Enhance your understanding of trauma and how it may impact a character's life, relationships, and self-esteem. Learn adaptive and maladaptive ways that people deal with trauma. Explore the "dos" and "don'ts" to help your character's heal or keep them in perpetual pain.
Treatment and Treatment Facilities: How bad are they really? Let's explore together what you character could encounter when going to a treatment center or hospital.
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How can I help?
Read your pages: Send me up to 5 double space typed pages for review and written feedback
Zoom consultation: Let's meet and talk it out!
Tarot card spread: Not sure who your character is? Not sure what your story is about? Let's pull some cards and dive into your subconscious to generate some new ideas!
