When I was a teenager, I was very focused on understanding diagnoses. I remember reading the DSM during lunchtime when I was a freshman in high school. I became interested in how nutrition impacts the mind and body when my mother became ill with cancer and was able to extend her life by changing her diet and including CAM therapies. During and after graduate school, I completed a supplemental nutrition program in health coaching at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition with the goal of someday opening a truly integrated mental health practice.

I am most focused on increasing wellness, resilience, and function. While I find pathology and etiology important, I do not believe they are barriers to wellness. I have worked with a variety of clients and use a blend of modalities to best support client needs.

My core values are intertwined with my therapeutic approach. Growing up, I was one of the few mixed-race children in a predominantly white community. I struggled with mental health and the chronic illnesses of very close family members and I am so thankful for my big, blended family. All of these experiences were significant in helping me understand the human condition and embrace differences. I believe that everyone can achieve wellness and that there is no one-size-fits-all pathway to doing so.

I’m most excited by the fact that the stigma is melting away! It makes me so excited to see how our perceptions of mental health continue to evolve and how more and more individuals are seeking counseling as an essential component to maintaining wellness.

When I was in undergrad, I participated in a research study geared toward coding stressors of teenage mothers and plotting the data in an effort to observe statistical trends. Listening to hours of interviews really gave me great developmental insight. It helped shape my interest in assisting individuals to overcome a variety of life's adversities regardless of the circumstances.