Meet Ruby
MS, LCPC
I approach my work from the perspective of collaboration, connection, curiosity, and compassion.
Through a mutually empowering therapeutic relationship, individuals can move toward authenticity, growth, and connection in other areas of life. Counseling is a journey, a story, a process; it is an exploration of past experiences, relationships, and societal and cultural influences, to begin more deeply understanding the meaning we make of the world around us.
The knowledge gained from understanding our connections and disconnections, the more we are able to be fully present and aware in our relationships. We often seek answers and validation from others because we lack the trust in ourselves, which can result from various disconnections we've experienced in our lives. Through accepting our own inherent knowledge as answers to questions about life, we can gain a greater sense of confidence in trusting ourselves and others.
As humans, we are wired to seek connection, belonging, and acceptance. The vulnerability of a deeper meaning and understanding requires validation, compassion and empathy, and a safe space to move toward the discomfort that often arises. Change is often difficult, scary, painful and unpredictable; and through a relationship with acceptance and mutuality, the discomfort that arises from what is often feared can be navigated collaboratively.
I received a BS of Community Health from Montana State University in 2018 followed by a MS of Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Montana State University in 2021.
When I am not working, I enjoy spending as much time outside as possible; walking, running, hiking, skiing, and exploring with my husband, son, and our dog, Gus (who might make a guest therapist appearance). I also enjoy a *hot* cup of coffee with all the good stuff, reading, baking, cooking, and tidying things up.
Why Counseling?
Compassion
Learn to hold your emotions and those of others with more softness and ease
Connection
Develop relationships with people and feel safe to be fully yourself, no matter what messages you might be receiving about how you "should" be
Empowerment
Understand the aspects of your life that limit you and overcome the ways they keep you stuck
Healing
Begin to work on feeling more of the emotions your body is telling you are important and learn to quiet the automatic responses that are limiting your ability to feel connection
Safety
Develop a strategy and space for feeling safe within yourself and around others
Belonging
Finally feel as though your place in this world is one worth inhabiting through acceptance and openness
AREAS OF SPECIALTY
Offering support navigating the challenges of life that can be difficult to process alone through deepening the connection you have with yourself, your emotions, and in your relationships. Learn to trust yourself in the journeys of life by recognizing that healing and growth are ever changing. Controlling yourself and your circumstances does not fix the proverbial problem, but rather keeps you feeling stuck in unsustainable patterns.
Anxiety
Anxiety can be a loud voice that can often feel difficult to quell. Through learning strategies to find acceptance and compassion about what purpose your anxiety is serving, it is possible to feel less overwhelmed by the unexpected things in life that are part of the human experience.
Depression
There are times when life feels like every task is unachievable. Even in those times, the loneliness and numbness that you might feel, is not where you're bound to stay. We are meant to feel our emotions, not force them down.
Through finding connection, purpose, and enjoyment; life can feel more dynamic.
Perinatal Mental Health
The information, or often, lack there of, that parents are given while trying to conceive, pregnancy, postpartum, pregnancy loss, and the various other aspects of the perinatal experience can feel insufficient. The unexpected ways that our bodies and brains respond to every new challenge can feel unfamiliar and overwhelming to say the least.
Relationship Struggles
Relationships can feel difficult and can keep your connections from growing. Begin to understand how your unique experiences have shaped your life and created a way of being with other people that may feel difficult at times and learn ways to communicate with people in your life that comes from a place of collaboration and kindness.
Life-Transitions
There is always change happening in our lives, and sometimes that can feel very emotionally intense. Sometimes in those shifts, we need someone to help navigate the complexities of our response to change. We are wired for connection, so feeling like you're carrying the weight alone can feel like an insurmountable task, and you don't have to carry it alone.
Eating Disorders
We all cope with life experience in different ways, and sometimes those coping strategies are not serving us. Eating disorders are isolating and complex and developing new ways of handling our emotions can feel like a loss of control. Through understanding the ways the eating disorder voice is wrong, not your body, you can begin to find healing and peace in nourishing your body, both mentally and physically.
*Referrals for dietitians and medical providers will be provided for treatment for cohesive treatment of mental and physical aspects of eating disorders
Offerings and Insurance
We work with clients in our Livingston office and around the state of Montana via telehealth for easier accessibility for those in rural areas. We are able to bill insurance and accept many private insurances and Medicaid.
IN-Network Insurance Companies
Aetna
Allegiance
BlueCross and BlueShield
Cigna
Evernorth
First Choice Health | FCH
Medicaid
Mountain Health Co-op
Optum
PacificSource
UnitedHealthcare UHC | UBH
Self-Pay
For individuals choosing to not use insurance benefits, our session rate is $170
Out of Network
We offer options for those using out-of-network benefits through providing a super-bill to submit to insurance for possible reimbursement. It is not guaranteed you will be reimbursed, so we always recommend contacting your insurance company prior to starting therapy.
Contact Me
Contact Info
Phone
Address
406.795.7807
103 1/2 S Main Street
STE 1
Livingston, MT 59047