I’m so glad you’re here

it’s nice to virtually meet you!

My clients tell me they appreciate my authenticity, transparency, and ability to hold space. I also love to incorporate humor as appropriate. Sometimes we just need to be able to laugh.

You won’t find me in the office every day because I believe work-life balance is key. I value time to myself and with loved ones so I am able to fully be present in the therapy room.

my values

I strive to provide an environment where clients feel safe to disclose private thoughts, feelings, and dreams so they feel comfortable taking emotional risks. I work with adults of all ages. My practice is inclusive of all races, ethnicities, sexual orientations and gender identities. I am also sex-positive and sex-worker allied.

Every client's needs are different. Together we will work to create a treatment plan designed just for you. I offer guidance and suggestions, however, you are always the one in control of what we work on. Any concerns or questions are welcome. The therapy room is a safe place to practice communication and handling conflict.

I believe that clients are the experts in their own lives. You may just need some guidance and support along the way. My goal is to empower clients to make decisions and reconnect to the inner wisdom and intuition of their authentic selves.

My Story

I consider myself lucky to have known what I wanted to do at a fairly young age. I wanted to help people. It was just a matter of figuring out in what capacity. Early in my career, I worked in psychiatric hospitals and residential treatment programs. These experiences provided me the opportunity to work with a variety of mental health issues at high levels of acuity. This extensive training helped me to feel confident in handling almost anything clients bring into the office.

The picture of what I would become passionate about came into focus while working on a women’s unit specializing in eating disorders and trauma. The clients I had the privilege to work with varied greatly in age and life circumstances but had several things in common. They were intelligent, high-achieving, perfectionistic, and complex. While their stories were different, they all sought comfort by using food in one way or another. I eventually went on to open my own practice working specifically with eating disorders, trauma, mood disorders, and women’s issues.

While the majority of clients I worked with over the years went on to complete treatment, return to work, school, etc, there were a handful that I felt I could not get to the finish line. The clientele I was working with were highly complex and needed something more. I began to recognize the limitations of traditional, top-down, cognitive methods learned in school and was ready for something more. I had heard about Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, (EMDR), a research-based modality first created for treating PTSD. The entire training had me at the edge of my seat, soaking up every word from my incredible teacher and now mentor. A colleague of mine called it a “game-changer” and that was an understatement. The further immersed I became in using EMDR, the more another observation could not be ignored. Using EMDR without addressing dissociation is missing a piece of the puzzle.

As I sat through my first demonstration on structural dissociation theory, my eyes were like saucers and I felt like I could not breathe. This is it. If EMDR was the cake, structural was the icing. It felt as though everything I had learned over almost two decades was flipped on its head. I had to overhaul my entire practice because what I had seen and learned changed everything. This is now the lens through which I work with all clients; unhealed material from the past wreaks havoc on our present.

EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS

B.S., Major in Psychology, Minor in Sociology, Georgia State University

M.S., Professional Counseling, Georgia State University

Licensed Professional Counselor in Arizona (License #18172)

Licensed Professional Counselor in Georgia (License #005639)

Certified Eating Disorders Specialist through IAEDP

EMDR Certified Therapist through EMDRIA

MY SPECIALTIES

Trauma is an emotional response to any event considered to be frightening or distressing that is difficult to cope with or simply out of one's control. This can be a single-incident such as a car accident or ongoing abuse or neglect. Trauma can have lasting effects on a person's mental, physical, and spiritual well-being.

Eating disorders are serious and can be life-threatening if not properly treated. Behaviors may include some combination of restricting, binging, purging, over-exercising, and other compensatory measures such as use of medications for weight management. Body image is often distorted and thoughts can become negative and obsessive.

Our early experiences with caregivers inform how we connect to others throughout our lives. When circumstances are not ideal, this can create insecurity, anxiety, and ambivalence in relationships as we mature.

Mood describes someone's internal experience of emotion. Mood disorders involve marked and significant disruptions in emotions such as high-highs and low-lows. Contributing factors may include family history, trauma, stress, and major life changes.

Self-worth describes a sense of one's value as a human, not just the traits that describe them. Emphasis is more on internal vs external validation. This work involves examining core beliefs, personal values, and working on self-acceptance and compassion.

Grief is a normal response to significant loss such as death of a loved one, divorce, illness, infertility, and other major life transitions. Grief often includes physiological as well as emotional distress. Grief can be a messy and painful process involving complex feelings of denial, anger, sadness and is rarely linear in process.