I have always had an interest in hearing the stories people tell about themselves. Our stories are the windows that allow others to peek in and see who we really are. When two stories collide, there is a magic in the moment… called connection. Without connection, our stories can feel meaningless and sometimes hope is lost.

The stories children share is seen through a lens of fantasy and intrigue that is often misplaced in the depths of loneliness or hopelessness for an adult. Maybe this is why I chose to be a teacher before becoming a therapist. Working with kids and teens is like peeking in the window of a candy factory. You know something good is about to be made. However, when trauma weaves its scarlet ribbon through the story of a child or an adolescent, the windows of the candy factory are sometimes too cloudy to see the goodness that is still being made on the inside.

I was one of the lucky teachers. For over 30 years, I had the privilege of being a music teacher. This meant that I was invited to participate in the stories of my students as they expressed them from the deepest parts of their hearts in the music they made. I feel honored to have been present for the telling of so many stories through the music that connected our hearts, minds and souls.

As a student in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Denver Seminary, I found a passion for research and began to explore the role that trauma, attachment style and dissociation play in the experience of performance anxiety. As a teacher and a performer, not only did I struggle with my own anxieties in performance, but I watched countless students give up on their passion for storytelling through music because of the anxiety they suffered as well. Through my research, I found a glimmer of hope for the treatment and intervention of performance-based anxieties. I intend to continue researching performance-based anxieties in my doctoral studies and dissertation.

While I am excited to continue to pursue research, my heart still longs to engage in the convergence of connection that happens when stories are shared. I deeply enjoy meeting my clients wherever they find themselves in their story and walking with them while they continue to narrate, look for meaning in or even begin to rewrite the next chapter of their lives.

My practice is unassuming, and all are welcome. I integrate a wide variety of interventions and modalities with the intention of avoiding a cookie-cutter approach to therapy. My goal is to meet my clients where they are with evidenced-based practices that equip them with the tools they need to find hope and healing in their journey.

Through continuing education, continued academic and fictional writing, research and healthy mentoring relationships, I hope to never lose sight of what it means to be a life-long learner. I use a trauma-informed, attachment-based lens when working with clients and am trained in EMDR and Theraplay and am also Prepare and Enrich trained and certified.

My clients are children and adolescents ages 4-17 and adult men and women who are struggling with the effects of trauma, dissociation, sexual, emotional and physical abuse, life changes, stress, anxiety, suicidality, depression, parental divorce, family difficulties and attachment wounds. I offer parent coaching and promote family connection through dyadic interactions between child and parent.
When not working, I can be found writing in my greenhouse, practicing cello and violin, dreaming of being on a beach, working in my garden and spending time with my husband of 30 years, four grown children and 2 Australian shepherds.

Associations

1. EMDRIA
2. CHi Sigma Iota
3. Psychology Today