Education and Credentials:

• The University of Minnesota-Duluth, BA in Psychology (2000)
• Naropa University, MA in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology (2008)
• Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC.0006411 (Active-Colorado)
• Certified Addiction Specialist, ACC.0998174 (Active-Colorado)
• Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, LPCC, 2473 (Inactive-California)
• EMDR Basic Training Certificate, EMDR Center of the Rockies (EMDRIA approved)
• EMDR International Association Member
• Certified Therapist in EMDR (Granted November of 2018)

Professional Experience:

I have over 15 years of direct experience working as a psychotherapist. I started my counseling career working in a Community Mental Health setting in Wheat Ridge, Colorado; specifically doing work with the Adult Outpatient Team for Jefferson Center for Mental Health. I have worked extensively with individuals (adults) struggling with depression & anxiety, grief & loss, PTSD/trauma and substance abuse issues across varying levels of severity. In addition to the many hours of individual work with clients over the years, I have facilitated numerous therapy groups as well; specifically anger management, women’s groups and depression recovery groups. I had a brief stint of experience in California, from 2014-2015. During that time, I had the privilege of facilitating a handful of support groups for women in recovery from both breast and ovarian cancer, with a wonderful organization called Bay Area Cancer Connections. Coming back to Colorado in 2015 brought me back into the Community Mental Health setting, where I had started my career in 2007 as an intern in my graduate program. In May of 2016, I started my own private practice in Broomfield, Colorado where I continue to enjoy working with adults to help them reach their health and wellness goals. In May of 2017, I completed my basic training in EMDR. I then went on to become a certified EMDR therapist in November of 2018.

Theoretical Point of View:

I am passionate about supporting clients around finding, and healing, the core issues related to distress. Learning to better manage and/or decrease troubling symptoms can (and definitely does!) lead to relief. While addressing emotional symptoms is an important part of the overall therapeutic process, symptom management alone can fall short of fully resolving the issues that bring people into therapy. Addressing the root cause(s) that may play a role in your current state of dysfunction and/or dysregulation, can be a powerful & effective path to healing.

Additionally, I view the therapeutic work I engage in with my clients, primarily through an attachment-based lens. Research has shown that early attachment wounds with our primary care-givers, can set the stage for how we connect with others & navigate through the world as adults. A healthy therapeutic environment allows clients to work through, and ultimately heal, attachment wounds from childhood if needed.

Attachment-based work is interwoven throughout most of the more specific modalities I employ. However, I regularly utilize the following approaches: EMDR, Gestalt Therapy, Internal Family Systems, Meditation/Mindfulness & Motivational Interviewing.

Specialty:

While I use approaches that will be the best fit for each individual client, I specialize in helping my clients heal emotional wounds from trauma, stress, and chronic anxiety by way of EMDR therapy. I have found EMDR moves people through their healing process more efficiently and effectively, with longer term benefits, than some other approaches are able to do. EMDR is the ultimate treatment for addressing the root causes of emotional pain & troubling symptoms. Making sense of a past painful memory/experience, can have profound effects on one’s ability to recover. EMDR supports the resolution of unresolved trauma/painful experiences that can become “stuck,” and therefore continue to show up and exacerbate symptoms in present day life.