It takes a great deal of effort and courage to start the healing process. Life can be exhausting. This world is full of negative messages that bombard our system and compromise our ability to be fully present and experience the gifts of life. I have noticed that deeply profound changes occur within when we begin to challenge and shift these messages. Trust is foundational to the healing experience. Revealing the core of who you are requires great strength and trust. As your therapist, I will meet you exactly where you are with the awareness that you are an expert on your own experience. I understand that authentic and lasting change must happen on our own terms in our own time. For this reason, we will move through our journey at your pace.
We come into each moment with a mosaic of roles sculpting who we are, and how others experience us. Most of us have experiences in which we may not have been seen or heard. Whether finding your voice, healing wounds, or working though trauma, you will experience unwavering support. My goal is to create an empathetic, peaceful, and productive experience of safety and connection during our time together. A space in which you experience being truly seen and heard. Self-acceptance is foundational to healthy change. It is in fact, critical to wellness. I will hold space for you to cultivate self-acceptance while acknowledging your value and establishing your voice. We will honor and acknowledge every part of your human experience, noticing your story in an open environment that nurtures your inner child and celebrates your mosaic of roles.
When life gets heavy it shuts us down. We have a multitude of strengths and everything we need is already inside. It is my experience that deep healing work creates shifts in perspective. This work will shift your perspective and give you improvements in self-awareness that allows you to identify your strengths and reclaim your power. Healing is a beautiful opportunity to meet yourself in a space of love, often for the first time. As we move through the healing experience, we will work together and explore all elements of life and aspects of self. You will learn to honor and embrace the child within with resolute determination and curiosity. We will cultivate life and tolerance skills, allowing you to truly flourish and stay connected in your life.
My training, experience, and who I am:
I am a native of Northern Michigan and completed my undergraduate degree at Northern Michigan University with a focus on Criminal Justice and Sociology. Life circumstances and an ongoing interest in the field of Psychology led me to the Midwest, where I completed graduate level degrees in Clinical Counseling and Human Services. I have been a Licensed Mental Health Counselor for 15 years. To create unique healing experiences, we will use a variety of approaches to encourage the opportunity for health and unbiased self-examination. My strategy is to use an eclectic approach of Person-Centered, Trauma Informed (EMDR and Brainspotting), Attachment Based (PCIT), and CBT modalities to help individuals and families develop the skills and tolerance necessary to achieve positive treatment outcomes, generate innovative solutions, and be fully present in life.
I am an Approved Brainspotting Consultant and Brainspotting Certified Therapist. Dr. David Grand developed Brainspotting in 2003. Brainspotting is a Neuroexperiential approach that is based on the Uncertainty Principle, the Dual Attunement Frame (the therapeutic relationship between client and provider is the foundation of the process), and focused mindfulness. Brainspotting is a brain-body based mode that aims to bypass the neocortex to gain access to the unresolved information associated with adverse experiences. Brainspotting uses a variety of relevant eye positions to access unprocessed trauma in the subcortical brain with depth and precision to encourage healthy resolution of trauma.
I have been interested and trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) since 2013. EMDR is endorsed by the World Health Organization as an effective empirically validated treatment for trauma. EMDR is helpful in the treatment of anxiety, trauma, depression, dissociative symptoms, and aids in the reduction of distress associated with adverse childhood experiences and ongoing life stressors. In May of 2019 became an EMDR Certified Therapist. In 2023 I became Certified in the EMDR Attachment-Focused Trauma Therapy (AFTT-A) Model. I continue active consultation with Debra Wesselmann, who is part of the research team that developed the Integrative Team Treatment model for treating attachment trauma in children and co-author of EMDR and Attachment-Focused Trauma Therapy for Adults: Reclaiming Authentic Self and Healthy Attachments. I am currently an EMDR Consultant in Training.
All behavior is purposeful. Early in my career I began to study attachment and in 2011 I completed basic training for Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). This therapeutic parenting model is effective in enriching parenting skills and designed to effectively treat children from the ages of 2-7 years old. PCIT is a modality employed to help families to reduce behaviors that contribute to conflict in the family system and compromise cohesion through building on strengths and using therapeutic parenting techniques.
I am an avid lover of art, family, nature, and music. In my spare time I seek new experiences and adventures with my family. We love going on hikes, to the beach, and enjoying the gifts of our environment. I seek opportunities for health and positive change in my own life, creating space for beautiful, and sometimes challenging healing experiences. I enjoy working with all ages and diagnosis. My hope is that I may join with clients where they are to support them as they meet their healing journey with curiosity and love. I invite you to come with ruthless compassion, having an open heart and all the courage you need to navigate the darkness. An investment in personal wellness is a liberating gift of lasting change that you give to yourself. It would be my honor to walk beside you as you heal, flourish, and meet life with confidence, agency, and integrity!