(he/him)
New to Grow
As an Orlando-born therapist, I'm passionate about providing integrative psychotherapy to the Florida community. I pride myself on being holistic and collaborative in my clinical care for everything from everyday stress to complex mental health challenges. My approach is built on empathetic understanding, unconditional acceptance, and the belief that identifying your core values is the foundation of lasting change. I hold a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health from Stetson University (two-time George Hood Scholar) and am a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP) trained in trauma's impact on neurobiology and whole-body health. What sets my practice apart is a genuinely integrative lens. As Certified Yoga Teacher currently teaching at Orlando Power Yoga, and a UCF-certified nutrition specialist with graduate research in nutritional psychiatry, I explore the full lifestyle of each client. Together we will explore mind, body, and spirit with kind curiosity to find intervention points that traditional therapy alone might miss. I also believe a therapist can only take a client as far as they’re willing to go themselves. That’s why I strive to live with congruence — practicing what I encourage in others — and continue my own therapeutic work, staying committed to growth, self-awareness, and showing up as my most authentic self in the room with you. When I’m not in session, you’ll find me posted up in a local coffee shop with my daughter, pushing myself through a good workout or yoga flow, in the kitchen experimenting with something new, or chasing anything furry and four-legged. I look forward to working with you
Walking into a first therapy session can feel like a big step, so let me take some of the mystery out of it and tell you what to expect when we meet. More than anything, our first session is about you and me getting to know each other. There’s no pressure to have everything figured out or to dive into the hardest thing in your life in the first ten minutes. My primary focus early on is simply creating a space where you feel comfortable, where you can exhale a little and start to settle in. The relationship between us matters more than any single technique I bring to the table. Research backs this up, but you’ll feel it too: real change happens when you feel seen, safe, soothed, and secure. That’s what we’re building from the very first conversation. We’ll start to talk about what brought you in to seek counseling in the first place and the patterns you’re ready to understand or change. But we won’t stop at just naming the problem. I’m just as curious about the bigger picture: how you got to where you are now. We’ll gently explore your story by sifting through the experiences, relationships, and moments that shaped you because understanding where you’ve been helps make sense of where you are today. You set the pace. You share what feels right to share, and I’ll meet you with warmth and zero judgment. By the end of our first session, my hope is that you leave feeling a little lighter, a little more understood, and with a sense that you’ve found someone in your corner. This is the beginning of a partnership, and I’m genuinely glad you’re here.
What makes me unique as a therapist starts with my own story. I’ve been in therapy since I was twelve years old, and I know firsthand what it’s like to sit in the client’s chair, to feel the weight of significant struggles and to slowly, courageously work through them. It was an incredibly influential therapist in my adolescence who showed me what’s possible when someone truly sees you, and that experience lit the spark that led me to this work. I became a therapist because someone once did it for me, and I’ve never forgotten what that meant. Because of this, I bring something to the room that can’t be taught in a classroom: lived understanding. I know both personally and professionally the profound impact trauma can have on a person’s life by how it shapes the way you see yourself, relate to others, and move through the world. I don’t speak about healing from a distance. I speak about it as someone who has walked the path and continues to do my own work. That gives me a deep well of empathy and a genuine, unshakable belief that change is possible, even when you can’t yet see it for yourself. My strengths lie in creating a space where you feel safe enough to be radically honest, and in meeting you with warmth, patience, and zero judgment. I’m attuned, curious, and willing to go to the hard places alongside you. I blend clinical skill with real human connection, and I integrate mind, body, and values into our work so we’re treating the whole you and not just a symptom. What you’ll find in me is a therapist who has been where you are, who believes in you, and who is honored to walk with you towards the life you want.
On the outside, you might be holding it together, showing up to work, taking care of the people who depend on you, keeping the plates spinning. But underneath, anxiety hums constantly, depression makes even small things feel heavy, and you’ve found yourself leaning on habits or substances that quiet the noise for a while but leave you feeling worse once the moment passes. You’re tired of the cycle, and some part of you knows there’s another way to live. I work best with a client who does not pretend to have it all figured out and is ready to be honest. Radically honest. If you're willing to sit in session and look at the things that are hard to look at, to name the patterns you’ve been avoiding, and to stay curious even when the truth is uncomfortable we will work great together. You don’t need me to have all the answers; you need a steady, nonjudgmental space to find your own. You’re also someone who doesn’t want change to live only inside the therapy room. You’re motivated to take what we explore together and actually try it out in your life, challenging yourself between sessions, to experiment with new ways of coping, to move toward the things that matter to you even when fear or old habits pull you back. You see growth as something you participate in, not something that happens to you. If that sounds like you, we’ll do meaningful work together. I’ll meet you with warmth and zero judgment, and I’ll also gently hold you to the honesty and effort you’re already showing up with. Real change is possible, and you don’t have to do it alone.
Other specialties
I identify as
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
I have years of training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. I use it to help clients build genuine confidence, the kind that holds steady regardless of what they’re feeling in the moment. In practice, this means helping you make room for difficult thoughts and emotions rather than fighting against them, so they have less power to hold you back. Together, we’ll clarify what truly matters to you and use those values as a compass for taking meaningful action, even when fear, depression or self-doubt show up. Over time you build the psychological flexibility to move toward the life you want, not by waiting to feel ready, but by learning that you can carry hard feelings and still show up as the person you want to be.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
I use Internal Family Systems it to help clients build genuine insight and undertstanding of themselves. IFS works from the idea that we all have different ‘parts’ inside us (the inner critic, the anxious part, the part that wants to protect us) and that underneath them all is a calm, grounded core Self. In practice, this means helping you get to know these parts with curiosity instead of judgment, understanding what each one is trying to do for you. As you build a trusting relationship with your parts, the ones carrying fear or self-doubt begin to relax, and you’re able to lead from that steady, confident Self. Over time, you develop the ability to stay grounded and self-assured not by silencing the difficult parts of you, but by learning to listen to them while staying firmly at the helm. The goal is to become the steady leader of your parts and recognize when you have fused with parts that are getting in your way.
Integrative
I have specific training in an integrative mind-body approach to therapy. As a trained yoga instructor teaching weekly for over 10 years, I recognize that we are not a separate mind operating inside a body, but a unified whole. What happens in the body shapes the mind, and what happens in the mind lives in the body. In practice, this means we won’t just talk about your experience; we’ll pay attention to how it shows up physically. Together we can explore the tension you carry, your breath, the sensations that arise when difficult emotions surface. By bringing awareness to this connection, you learn to work with your whole self, using the body as a doorway to calm, insight, and lasting change. Over time we can build a grounded confidence that comes from feeling at home within yourself.