There’s More to the Story
Individual counseling for adults navigating trauma, personality disorders, and difficult relationships.
WELCOME
My background includes community mental health, substance use treatment, private practice, and teaching psychology at Boise State University. I’ve worked with people navigating overlapping mental health concerns, personality disorders, trauma, and difficult relationships. These experiences shape my curiosity about each person’s story and what matters to them.
I believe our emotions and patterns often make more sense when we understand the experiences that shaped them. Relationships, family, culture, and the ways we’ve learned to protect ourselves can influence how we see ourselves and connect with others.
In our work together, we’ll make room for understanding and practical steps forward. Drawing from DBT, ACT, and narrative therapy, I can help you recognize your strengths, explore familiar patterns, and practice responding in ways that reflect your needs and values.
DB Nahalea, LPC
Specialties
Personality Disorders
Emotions can be overwhelming, relationships can be difficult to navigate, and knowing what you need or who you are may not always feel clear. You might have a personality disorder diagnosis or be trying to understand recurring patterns in your life.
I work with adults navigating these experiences, including borderline and narcissistic personality disorders. Together, we can explore what’s happening, build skills for managing emotions, and practice ways of relating to support your needs and values. You don’t need a diagnosis to begin.
Relationships
A relationship with a parent, family member, friend, or intimate partner may leave you doubting yourself, feeling responsible for someone else’s emotions, or struggling to express your needs.
I support adults affected by relationships with someone who has or may have a personality disorder. Whether you’re maintaining the relationship, considering boundaries, or processing its ending, we can explore its impact and what you want moving forward. Our work centers on your experience; certainty about the other person’s diagnosis isn’t required.
Trauma
Past experiences can continue to shape how you feel, see yourself, and connect with others. You may feel on edge, shut down when things become overwhelming, struggle to trust, or notice patterns that once helped you cope but now feel limiting.
I support adults working through the effects of trauma, including painful family and relationship experiences. Together, we can explore how these experiences affect you today, build ways to manage distress, and strengthen your sense of choice. You can decide what to share and when; we’ll work at a pace that feels manageable.
What to expect
What Sessions Look Like
You can bring what’s on your mind—a recent argument, an emotion that’s hard to manage, a relationship you’re questioning, or something you haven’t found the words for yet. We’ll start there and work together to understand what’s happening and what you need.
Sessions combine conversation with practical skills. We might talk through a difficult interaction, notice what led you to shut down or react, practice expressing a need, or explore a familiar belief about yourself. I draw from DBT, ACT, and narrative therapy to help connect these conversations to your everyday life.
Some sessions may focus on making sense of past experiences; others may involve trying a different response to something happening now. We’ll make room for both understanding and action, checking in along the way about what feels useful and how the work fits your goals.
Getting Started
You don’t need to have everything figured out before reaching out. A free 15-minute consultation gives us a chance to talk about what brings you to counseling, answer your questions, and see whether we’re a good fit.
If we decide to work together, we’ll schedule your first appointment. We’ll spend that session getting to know you, discussing what feels difficult, and exploring what you hope to gain from counseling.
I offer individual sessions in Boise and online throughout Idaho, with walk-and-talk sessions available. Sessions are $150. I currently accept private pay and offer a limited number of sliding-scale appointments.
