I am an LMSW, soccer coach, and former collegiate athlete. Formerly the Ehrenberg Family Fellow for Athletic Counseling in the University of Michigan Athletic Department. I provided mental health and athletic performance care for up to thirty Division 1 varsity student-athletes. I received my master’s degree from the University of Michigan School of Social Work in 2020. My passion is to help individuals become masters of themselves and to help them accomplish their goals. I work from a social justice lens to be culturally sensitive, utilizing strength-based, solution-focused interventions. I strive to work collaboratively toward clients’ objectives. I have worked with patients on athletic performance, injury support, self-esteem, depression, anxiety, sleep issues, relational stressors, grief/loss, trauma and suicidality. My approach is foundationally a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) framework, and I am certified in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). I intend to earn my certification in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). The area I am most passionate about is the study of traumatic, toxic-stress, and mind/body symptoms. I have been interested in how trauma extends beyond some of the more historic notions of PTSD and ACEs. I myself was a collegiate athlete and, through many hardships and obstacles, on and away from the field, went through my own mental health journey. After coaching youth soccer for eight years since college, it became apparent to me that we had been neglecting the mental health of athletes and, oftentimes, of youth in general. In turn, my biggest motivation became de-stigmatizing mental health problems, particularly in the world of sport, and being a spokesperson for the value of therapy.
Lets get to know each other, what you hope for from therapy, and what you would like to know about me and our work.
Building rapport, listening and continuing to work to understand what you uniquely feel. I think I have a lot of experience through my own mental health journey and then working to learn to assist others. I think being able to know when to use my coach voice and when to be more trauma-sensitive is crucial.
I find ACT to be a great stepping stone from CBT. Being connected to our values and the present moment, as well as several other skills come together to create a compass for how we can live true to ourselves.
A crucial way of understanding the way our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors interact. This is the foundation of the work I do and then we go from there. Sometimes we teach trauma education and somatics first if needed.
I work from a culturally sensitive trauma informed and social justice lens. That means working to meet the unique needs of a client based off their background, not mine.
Anything I do is rooted in understanding the way that our minds and bodies are influenced by both trauma and historic trauma.