(she/her)
New to Grow
I got my MA in Dance/Movement Therapy and Clinical Mental Health Counseling in 2009 and have since worked mostly in community mental health. I'm excited to move more fully into working with women in transitional spaces of life looking for support and validation about their desires and next steps. My work with midlife women navigating perimenopause, family life, jobs and older family members has been the most fulfilling work I've ever done. Caring for the caregivers so that they may find the freedom and creativity in their lives to set boundaries, use their voices and make intentional choices based on what they KNOW that they need is the way to set free a group of women who never intended to imprrison themselves in a life they didn't fully consciously choose.
Showing up to therapy takes a lot of courage and trust. I want to help you feel as comfortable as possible telling your story to a total stranger; I usually do this with humor and silliness. Your story is important so our first session is also about me getting to know you, what brought you to therapy (the straw that broke the camels back), and what parts of your history might be linked to what brought you in today.
I am terribly honest, funny, compassionate and raw. You will not questions my motives or intent when we work together, you will feel and know quickly that our time together is important to me too, seeing and celebrating your growth is a huge reward as well as holding space for when growth feels like too much.
Midlife creative and suppressed mothers going through perimenopause who have been caring for others their whole lives and want to return to themselves. To find and trust their intuition. Women in their forties who want to unlearn the patriarchal and white supremacist ways of being in the world and make their lives as big and sparkly as they can possibly imagine.
Relational
I believe that the therapeutic relationship itself is the foundation for growth. Within that safe and compassionate container, I use somatic practices, expressive arts, play, movement and narrative techniques to help people access deeper truths.
Attachment-based
How you were in relation to your original caregivers can be a window into your current relationships.
Existential
Our view of ourselves without taking into account of our relationship to the rest of humanity and the universe would be a narrow view.
Humanistic
Your well-being and experience as a human in this world is of the utmost importance, your humanity is integral to your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
Having awareness of your thoughts and feelings is a big part of making change. Using mindfulness increases your ability to be aware.