Who I Work With

I specialize in working with people who have anxiety; this often looks like self doubt, overthinking, struggling to understand thoughts and feelings, and being unsure of how to share your inner world with others. There can be fear of not being able to protect important relationships, and beliefs like “who I am and how I feel is not ok”.

Many of my clients desire to repair their relationships with themselves after being undermined, making mistakes in the past and wanting to regain trust in themselves, or being encouraged to deny their own wisdom and sense of self. Part of my role is to reflect people’s strengths, as they begin to see and believe those strengths for themselves.

In addition to gaining a stronger sense of self, clarity around values, and becoming more able to see themselves positively, my clients often share that they feel more at ease, relaxed, and confident.

I also support people with chronic health conditions, and with the challenges and sometimes trauma that comes from living with health conditions and having to navigate the medical system.

How I Practice

The most important thing that I offer my clients is a relationship where they can feel safe, supported, validated, and can use that space to support growth and healing.

Working integratively means that my clients and I work together to explore goals, challenges, strengths, and needs. Then we explore the ways that we can enhance those strengths and resources, work through barriers and challenges, and ultimately move towards goals. I very frequently draw from EMDR to build internal resources and to process traumatic experiences, including those that led to being hard on yourself or struggling to trust yourself (when I say traumatic experiences, this ranges from something like a car wreck, to abuse, to living in a world where we face oppression, being devalued, and other forms of harm).

I also pull from other evidence-based theories and modalities. This might include using ego state therapy/parts work to discern the multiple stances you hold and understand your many points of view. We may use narrative therapy to understand your story, or emotionally focused therapy to explore patterns within your relationships. I have additional training in EMDR including Imaginal Nurturing, a technique that integrates aspects of EMDR and ego state work, in EMDR for pain, emotionally focused therapy for repairing in relationships, and training in ego state/parts work. Along the way, I ask questions about what is and isn’t working, integrating this feedback as we go.

My Values

  • I respect, celebrate, and welcome all diversity of humanity. I believe that there are many layers of privilege and oppression, and that we can hold positions of privilege and oppression. I believe that our experiences of oppression can compound. I believe that the solution to this is collective liberation, that we cannot work towards freedom for any group or identity without working towards liberation for all.

  • I believe that different areas of wellness are connected, and that our wellness is deeply connected to our contexts: our relationships, families, communities, and cultures.

  • I believe that part of liberation is expanding access to choice and opportunity. I believe that part of our humanity is a right to autonomy and choice.

  • I approach the world with curiosity, valuing humility and openness. I actively seek joy in connecting with the world and other people.

  • I recognize that I am not the expert of your life—you are. I hold some positions of privilege and some of oppression, and I work to maintain awareness of my position and the reality that there are many lived experiences I don’t understand.

Who I Am Outside of Work

I love gardening and growing things, riding my bike, walking, camping, playing music, reading (mysteries especially), fiber arts—weaving and knitting, and most of all I love talking and laughing with people I care about.

The Details

I am a couple and family therapist, licensed in the states of Kentucky, Indiana, and Minnesota. I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology from Bellarmine University, and Master’s degrees from the University of Louisville—an MA in Bioethics and Medical Humanities, an MS in Social Work, and an MS in Couple and Family Therapy.

“The world needs a sense of worth, and it will achieve it only by its people feeling that they are worthwhile.”

— Fred Rogers