Education MS, Community Counseling BA, Psychology with a Minor in Criminal Justice
Credentials Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) Certified Dementia Rater for Clinical Trials
Clinical Focus I am a licensed clinical therapist with a Master’s degree in Community Counseling and an emphasis in Family and Marital Therapy. I enjoy working with adults of all ages, from young adults to those of retirement age. Throughout the course of my career, I have worked in various settings and levels of care, including inpatient, outpatient, intensive outpatient, and therapeutic day treatment. Through these experiences, I have worked with a myriad of mental health issues including depression, anxiety, trauma, psychosis, suicidal ideation, mood lability, substance abuse, ADHD, gender identity struggles, and neurocognitive disorders to name a few.
I also have extensive experience and training in working with dementia-related disorders, providing individual, group, and family therapy to those struggling with the disease. I have helped families in securing placement for their loved ones when they can no longer safely live independently by providing recommendations regarding the appropriate level of care, along with recommendations for specific facilities to meet their needs. More recently, I obtained certification as a Dementia Rater to provide testing and screening for clinical trial participants.
I practice from a person-centered approach with borrowed techniques and interventions from cognitive behavioral therapy, as well as a few other modalities. My goal is to help clients live their most authentic lives and to identify and work through any barriers that are prohibiting this. I feel that building rapport with others is a personal strength, and I strive to offer an open and accepting atmosphere, free of judgment. I often use humor in my interactions, as I feel the world would be a better place if we could all just laugh at ourselves a bit more often.
In my spare time... You will likely find me with earbuds in and listening to a good audiobook or the latest in the many true crime podcasts that I follow. I love spending time with the cutest dog and cat that you have ever seen (and yes, I am totally biased) as well as with family and friends. I enjoy cooking and baking, and my secret guilty pleasure of watching dating reality shows. When the weather is nice, I like to swim and go kayaking. For self-care, I indulge in a good massage or some retail therapy.