About MindWell Psychology Group, Michigan

I am a Doctor of Clinical Psychology (PsyD), currently licensed as a Doctoral Limited Licensed Psychologist (DLLP) and practicing under the supervision of Johanna Buzoltis, PhD, LP. My clinical experience spans private and group practice, inpatient hospitalization, integrated primary care, consultation-liaison services, and Veterans Affairs healthcare. Across these settings, I have worked with adults, couples, and families presenting with a wide range of concerns, including anxiety, depression, trauma, mood disorders, schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders, acute psychosis and psychiatric crises, relationship difficulties, life transitions, chronic and complex health conditions, caregiver stress, and the challenges associated with living with or supporting someone with serious and persistent mental illness.

Although the settings and presenting concerns have varied considerably, a consistent question has guided my work: How do we understand the whole person rather than only the problem that brought them through the door? How do we listen to understand what someone is unable to say or is trying to say?

My work in private practice has allowed me to develop longer-term therapeutic relationships with individuals, couples, and families navigating both everyday challenges and more complex psychological concerns. This work has reinforced the value of understanding not only symptoms, but also the patterns, relationships, experiences, identities, strengths, losses, and life circumstances that contribute to how a person understands themselves and moves through the world.

My experience in inpatient hospitalization expanded this perspective through work with individuals experiencing acute psychiatric crises and severe and persistent mental illness, including mood disorders, acute safety concerns, psychosis and schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Working with people during some of the most vulnerable and destabilizing periods of their lives strengthened my interest in complex clinical presentations, psychological assessment, and differential diagnosis. It also reinforced the importance of looking beyond what is occurring during a single moment of crisis. A person is more than their symptoms at admission, their diagnosis, or the most difficult period of their life. Understanding the broader individual, their history, relationships, family and support system, environment, functioning, strengths, and experiences is essential to thoughtful psychological care.

My work in integrated healthcare further deepened my appreciation for the connection between psychological and physical well-being. Emotional distress does not occur separately from the body. Sleep, chronic illness, pain, major medical decisions, caregiving responsibilities, trauma, stress, relationships, identity, purpose, and meaning can all influence psychological health, and psychological well-being can, in turn, affect how we experience and manage our physical health. It is bidirectional. During my internship/residency at the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center, I worked across outpatient mental health, Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI), consultation-liaison, and health psychology settings. My clinical experiences included individual and couples psychotherapy, psychological assessment, crisis intervention and suicide prevention, brief solution-focused treatment, behavioral sleep consultation, and health-behavior interventions. I also conducted psychological evaluations related to organ transplantation, bariatric surgery, and spinal cord stimulation and worked with concerns involving insomnia, CPAP adherence, tinnitus, tobacco cessation, perimenopause, and menopause.

Working across very different levels of care, from private practice and primary care to integrated medical settings and acute inpatient hospitalization, has shaped how I approach psychological treatment today. Whether someone is navigating anxiety or a major life transition, adjusting to changes in physical health, recovering from trauma, living with a serious mental illness, experiencing an acute psychiatric episode, struggling within a relationship, or caring for someone they love, I believe effective psychological care begins with listening deeply and remaining curious. It means seeking to understand how a person experiences themselves, others, and the world around them; how their relationships and life experiences have shaped them; how emotional and physical well-being intersect; and what has helped them survive, adapt, and continue moving forward.

These experiences ultimately helped shape the philosophy behind MindWell Psychology Group: thoughtful clinical care that integrates psychological knowledge and clinical reasoning with curiosity, collaboration, compassion, and an understanding of the whole.

Before we can understand what someone is experiencing, we have to understand the person experiencing it.

My approach is relational, trauma-informed, collaborative, culturally responsive, and whole-person focused. It is grounded primarily in Humanistic-Existential and Person-Centered principles, while thoughtfully integrating perspectives from Psychodynamic therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

At the center of this approach is a simple belief: you are more than the reason you came to therapy.

Symptoms and diagnoses can provide important information, but they are only one part of a much larger picture. I want to understand the whole person—the experiences that have shaped you, the relationships that matter to you, your physical and psychological health, culture and identity, family and community, responsibilities and stressors, strengths and vulnerabilities, losses and transitions, values, purpose, and hopes for what comes next. These parts of our lives do not exist independently; they interact in ways that influence how we think, feel, relate, cope, and experience ourselves and the world around us.

An important part of whole-person care is recognizing that we do not all experience the world in the same way. Throughout treatment, I approach differences in culture, identity, family structure, life experience, values, beliefs, and worldview with cultural humility. I do not assume that sharing an experience, identity, or circumstance with someone means that I understand what it means to you. My role is to remain curious about how you understand yourself, your experiences, your relationships, and the world you inhabit. At times, this also means being willing to recognize what I do not know, ask rather than assume, and remain open to learning from the perspective you bring into the room.

Therapy offers an opportunity to bring that same curiosity to ourselves within a safe, supportive, and nonjudgmental environment. Instead of beginning with “What is wrong with me?” we might ask, “Why might this make sense given what I have experienced?” “What has this way of coping helped me survive or manage?” “What parts of my family, culture, relationships, or experiences have shaped how I learned to respond?” and “Is this still helping me live the life I want today?”

Curiosity does not mean avoiding difficult conversations or minimizing the need for change. It means creating enough safety and understanding to look honestly at patterns, experiences, relationships, choices, and even the parts of ourselves we may struggle to understand or accept. When we approach ourselves with curiosity rather than judgment, we often create more room for understanding, self-compassion, choice, and meaningful change.

My role is not to tell you who you are or assume that I already understand your experience. Therapy is collaborative. You bring knowledge of your life and lived experience; I bring psychological knowledge, clinical experience, curiosity, and an outside perspective. Together, we work toward a fuller understanding of where you have been, what is happening now, and where you would like to go.

Humanistic and Person-Centered principles provide the foundation for the therapeutic relationship. Therapy begins with respect, authenticity, empathy, curiosity, and nonjudgment, along with the recognition that each person brings strengths, knowledge, and lived experiences that a diagnosis alone cannot capture.

What would it feel like to talk openly without worrying about disappointing someone or being judged? Why do I understand everyone else’s needs more easily than my own? Who am I outside of the roles I have learned to fill? What strengths have helped me get this far, even if I don’t recognize them as strengths? What might change if I learned to trust myself a little more?

Existential perspectives create space for the larger questions that often emerge when life does not unfold as expected or as we transition through different stages of life. We may explore identity, meaning, and purpose, choice, responsibility, uncertainty, isolation, loss, mortality, and what it means to live authentically when some circumstances cannot simply be fixed or changed. Sometimes therapy is not about making something difficult disappear; it is about discovering how you want to live in the presence of what cannot be changed.

Who am I now that my life looks different than I thought it would? What gives my life meaning at this stage? How do I accept something I never wanted to happen? How much of my life reflects what I truly want, and how much reflects what others have expected of me? What choices do I have when it feels like I have no choice at all? How do I move forward after loss? How do I build a meaningful life while living with illness, uncertainty, or circumstances I cannot control?

Psychodynamic thinking invites us to become curious about how earlier relationships and experiences may continue to shape present-day patterns, expectations, emotions, and how we relate to ourselves, other people, and the world around us. The goal is not to remain focused on the past or to assign blame. Instead, understanding where a pattern began can help us appreciate why it may once have been necessary or protective—and consider whether it is still serving us today.

Why do I keep ending up in the same kinds of relationships? Why do I expect people to leave, reject me, or disappoint me? Why is it so difficult to say no or set a boundary without feeling guilty? Why do I shut down, become defensive, or pull away when someone gets too close? Why do I feel responsible for everyone else’s emotions? Why do I keep repeating a pattern even though I know it isn’t working? What did I learn about myself and relationships earlier in life—and do I still want to live by those rules today?

CBT and ACT help bring this understanding into the present and translate insight into meaningful change. CBT helps us examine how thoughts, emotions, and behaviors influence one another and develop practical strategies for responding differently. ACT helps us consider how we relate to difficult thoughts and emotions, clarify what matters most, and keep moving toward a meaningful life even when discomfort, uncertainty, or circumstances can’t be eliminated.

I understand why I do this, so why is it still so hard to change? Are my thoughts helping me understand what is happening, or keeping me stuck? What am I avoiding because it feels uncomfortable or frightening? What matters enough to me that I am willing to tolerate some discomfort to move toward it? How can I make room for difficult thoughts or feelings without allowing them to determine what I do next? What might my choices look like if they were guided more by my values and less by fear?

No single theory, technique, or treatment fits every person. Therapy should fit the person, not the other way around. For some clients, our work may be brief, practical, and focused on a specific concern. For others, it may be longer-term exploration. Often, it is a combination of both—understanding how the past continues to influence the present while developing new ways of responding today.

Ultimately, the goal is not simply to understand what is happening, but to become curious about why it may be happening, what it means within the broader context of your life, what is within your ability to change, what may need to be accepted or approached differently, and how you want to move forward.

At MindWell Psychology Group, whole-person care means making room for all of YOU.

Adults, couples, and families, including individuals whose mental health concerns are complex, longstanding, or significantly affect everyday life.

Clients may come to MindWell Psychology Group seeking support for: