Licensed to practice in Ohio and accepts 17 insurances. Specializes in Foster Care/Adoption, Grief, Trauma and PTSD and 6 more.
(she/her)
New to Grow
I am an adult adoptee with 20 years of experience working in the adoption space. I train prospective adoptive parents, and train mental health professionals in adoption competence. I am a parent, and a cat mom who loves to read and enjoys live theater. My clinical focus is to help adoptees and adoptive parents understand the lifelong journey of adoption in all its variations and complexities, as well as working with clients who have trauma or attachment challenges for reasons other than adoption.
Our first session will be focused on exploring your story and understanding your goals. Everyone has a unique story, and it is necessary to know yours to identify goals and priorities.
My biggest strength is working with adoptees is that I have walked the path myself. Not only do I have the professional training to work with adoptees and adoptive parents, but I have the lived experience as well. I am able to challenge stereotypes, and validate the complex feelings that come with an adoption story, while supporting clients in integrating all aspects of their story.
My ideal clients are adoptees or adoptive parents who are are working through the core issues related to the adoption experience. Loss, grief, guilt and shame, fear of rejection, identity, intimacy, and mastery and control manifest throughout the life of the adoptee, and can impact life at all different developmental stages. Helping clients understand and integrate all aspects of their story, including difficult or missing information, and past trauma will support them in healing, and developing secure attachment.
People who have been adopted, spent time in foster care, or have other forms of childhood trauma may have relationship challenges as adolescents and adults due to the disrupted attachment they experienced in their early years. However, attachment styles can be understood, and changed, which leads to healthier relationships.
Individuals who have experienced trauma can sometimes experience disordered thinking as the result of an overactive stress response system. By examining the thoughts that lead to emotions and behaviors, and learning new thought patterns, trauma can be healed, and clients can develop healthier response patterns.