I have always loved helping people by being a good listener and allowing people to feel heard and understood. It was only natural then that I gravitated toward becoming a therapist. My passion is working with parents — mothers in particular — to support and nurture the attachment bond with their young children. I worked for an agency for a number of years, observing parents with their children and then writing reunification assessments for permanency court hearings to determine whether a child in foster care should return to the care of his or her biological parent or remain with his or her foster parent. While doing this, I would not just observe the interactions between parent/foster parent and child but I would also work with the parent to help them better relate and respond to their child's emotional needs. This experience segued into outpatient mental health clinic work, private practice, and pursuing specialized trainings and certifications.

I know that it isn’t easy to make an appointment with a complete stranger and then have to tell all of your personal information to that same stranger. It creates vulnerability and it’s really difficult to feel vulnerable. I recognize this and I honor and respect my clients' decisions to take action by seeking therapy. You will find that I am a very warm, kind, and nonjudgmental person. Those I have worked with in the past have told me that they find me easy to trust and that I am adept at helping them feel heard and understood. My clients often come to therapy because of guilt, anxiety, and/or constant exhaustion. In therapy with me, my clients learn how to better connect with their child(ren) and learn the root cause of certain behaviors. I support moms and help them manage their own symptoms of anxiety while educating and guiding them in handling different childhood behavioral issues.

It's an interesting phenomenon: This bond between people and particularly between a parent and their child. A parent can love their child so much but at the same time feel completely aggravated by them. It seems like a contradiction when it is actually a natural part of the relationship. Parents often feel a sense of guilt or anxiety for their feelings. This may be related to behaviors their child is doing or it could be related to other things going on in their lives. I am greatly interested in continuing to educate myself on strategies that help parents in their self-care. I believe one does not have to continue feeling guilt or anxiety even if there are life stressors going on. One can experience those stressors while learning strategies for better managing them. I appreciate continuing education courses on mindfulness, child development, behavioral intervention strategies, and cultural competency.

The pandemic was beyond challenging for many reasons but one aspect that I appreciated was the fact that teletherapy became more popular. Telehealth is an amazing tool! Now there are no travel barriers getting in the way of treatment. Transportation to appointments is no longer an issue and adverse weather conditions no longer get in the way of sessions. People can engage in therapy from the comfort of their own homes, making it now more accessible than ever before!