My own experience with therapy led me to become a therapist. I understand feeling stuck and not knowing how to move forward. Therapy provided skills and tools for me that enabled me to cope, problem-solve, and change behaviors. During our sessions, we will develop a plan and set goals based on your needs. 

Prior to becoming a therapist, I worked as a horseback riding instructor, specializing in teaching children. My niche quickly became kids that were anxious, working through fear, or were struggling with a horse with behavior problems. By breaking down the problem into small, achievable steps, my students’ confidence grew as did their ability. This began my passion to work with kids that struggle with anxiety, depression, social skills, family conflict, academic support, grief, and trauma. 

For the past 15 years, I have been helping children, teens, and adults navigate the challenging and stressful events in their lives. My therapeutic career began in community-based therapy where my “out-of-the-box” style was nurtured and reinforced. The families, teens, and children I worked with often identified with the label of hopelessness. This label was reinforced internally (within the client themself or the family system) and by external agencies (schools, social services, and probation).  Collectively, clients learned better ways of coping, thereby relieving their symptoms and becoming more effective in their lives.

Once I became a mom I transitioned to working in a school district.  My job included supporting students with disabilities, who were bullied, navigating peer issues, and more. Parenting support quickly became a secondary role. Through positive behavioral interventions and the development of school-wide behavior systems, I was able to interact with different types of people in order to help all stakeholders work toward the benefit of children. I used Cognitive Behavioral Therapy skills and tools to provide support for students, parents, and educators. These tools are proven techniques that help navigate delicate or challenging situations with children and/or teens.  Having good communication with parents was essential so meeting with them and providing educational resources was also an important part of my work.  

​

A little over a year ago I decided to focus on individual therapy which allowed me the opportunity to balance family time with work.