I have had the opportunity to accumulate a wide range of professional experiences in my 25+ years of serving others, including outpatient psychotherapy, in-home counseling, child & adolescent day treatment, school-based services, community programming, group homes, and inpatient services. Each and every one has helped shape who I am as a professional and what I can bring to the therapy experience.

I am always thrilled to hear when clients say that they’ve had good past experiences in therapy and that this has inspired them to return to outpatient counseling now that they are encountering a current challenge. 

Sadly, I have also heard again and again from clients that their past experiences in therapy were unhelpful, invalidating, downright unprofessional or possibly even unethical. This needs to change. We can do better.

I strive to make sure every session feels “worth it” and is time well spent. I realize each person enters my office with their own unique expectations of me as a therapist. I welcome any guidance about what you would like me to supply, whether that is helping problem-solve, providing psychoeducation about the brain/body/trauma/etc., teaching specific skill sets, being that someone to truly hear your story with genuine empathy, or something else. It is an honor to support you as you grow, find your strength, and create the life you long for.

I am passionate about providing a welcoming, safe, non-judgmental space for those I have the privilege of working with – a place where all viewpoints and topics are allowed. In a society that is increasingly “you’re either with us or against us,” and pressures us to see singular opinions as an all-or-nothing representation of who we are (all too often tearing apart our families and friendships no matter which “side” we are on), we lose sight of the fact that everybody is fighting their own battles which we may know nothing about. I strive to create a world where we can reconnect and remember we all have far, far more in common with one another than we have differences. We can be stronger together. 

I am quite fluid in my treatment approach, blending various approaches to reach each person’s unique goals for seeking therapy. This may include many of the gold standard, evidence-based theories such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Solution-Focused Therapy, EMDR, and Person-Centered Therapy, but we can also use other theories when those are a better fit. I will be upfront with you if I feel you would benefit from a specialized type of therapy I don’t have expertise in and help you to find a therapist who does. 

I currently provide therapy for clients ages 16 and older. My areas of specialty include:

• Life transitions (into adulthood, parenthood, empty-nesting, retirement, divorce)
• Women’s issues (postpartum, menopause, and everything in between/before)
• Trauma (religious, neglect/deprivation, sexual, physical, victim or witness to crime or life-threatening accidents, childhood-related)
• LGBTQIA+
• Caring for aging parents
• Personality disorders and the impact on family members
• Grief and loss
• Depression and feeling unworthy
• Anxiety, perfectionism, and self-sabotage
• Adjustment to a new medical diagnosis
• Assertiveness/communication
• Feeling the effects of a loved one’s AODA struggles
• Other therapists practicing their own self-care (thank you for this honor)

If this sounds like what you are seeking, I would be grateful for the opportunity to support you in creating the next chapter of your life story.

In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my husband and our now adult sons, traveling, camping, reading, doing puzzles of all kinds, going to concerts, and creating pottery. I also enjoy learning about health-related topics and watching NFL games with my very spoiled cats. I am enthusiastic about remodeling my home, but as the years go by I admittedly do more developing plans for this and less actually carrying them out.