I am a licensed clinical social worker who has been working with children, youth and adults for the past eight years. My background is special needs case management and parenting as a school social worker. My "why" when I think about my work is this: listening to clients stories' and sitting with them in their path to building resiliency. I believe the client knows themselves and their strengths, I sit by and guide them to build insight about how they want to make changes for personal growth. I champion my clients as they build their capacity for vulnerability to develop their authentic selves. I consider it a huge privilege to do this very important work.

Sometimes ordinary psychotherapy just isn’t “it”. Most people who come into my practice come due to persistent sexual and emotional problems that regular psychotherapy analyzed, but did not effectively facilitate. Sometimes, “How does it make you feel?” Is simply too little and not sufficient for change. You are left feeling an inventory of your issues, but not much change. You will likely find me quite different to the above. I don’t fit the mold and this is intentional because traditional psychotherapy frustrates me and I need to bring about relief and real change. I am extroverted and high-energy. I am an active and verbose facilitator, and you come because you desire to do the hard work on yourself. It is my honor to serve. I help emotional/sexual/abuse traumas heal using bilateral stimulation known as tapping, and positive psychotherapy. We laugh together! I work with fathers as well. I teach men how to listen effectively, for conflict resolution and to learn how to validate your mate and yourself for deeper relaxation and communion as a pair. What people are saying: "She blew my mind! I feel so much better." "I should have done this years ago." "Now I have the mental tools to be effective. I have "proof of concept". This is all worth it." "This is rewarding to share; I can provide my kids with tools they can use growing up." "This has had such an impact on my life." "I feel Great!" "You are the best psychotherapist I have ever had, and I have seen plenty of them!"

Areas of Expertise: PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, Psychosomatic Disorders, Addiction, Relational Issues, Stress Management, Family Issues, Couple's Issues, Personal Growth, East/West Psychotherapy, Eating Disorders, Bipolar Disorders and Obsessive Compulsive Disorders. 7 years ago I created Psychosomatic Psychotherapy, a novel and highly effective treatment that integrates mind, body and emotion. This method targets blocked emotion and inflammation. Most Western therapies are essentially mind-oriented, but we are so much more than our thoughts. My approach includes elements of Emotion Focused Therapy, Short Term Psychodynamic Therapy, Somatic Therapy and Zen Buddhism. Psychosomatic Psychotherapy treats all mental health conditions, many chronic medical conditions and is quickly effective at helping people and their problems. We begin by telling our story. We go at a slower pace than usual and we pay special attention to the emotionally important parts of the story, e.g., talking to our mother, worrying about work, conflict in a relationship, etc. Here we pause and direct our attention to our abdomen and ask, “How do/did I feel about this or that or him or her?” Then we wait. We don’t rush to answer the question with our heads, we wait for an answer to slowly arise from our bodies. We are bypassing our intellectual defenses and asking our bodies what’s really going on. When discover our feelings we express them in a full-throated and wholehearted way! Then we just feel (not analyze!) that feeling in our bodies until the feeling dissolves or almost completely dissolves, usually within a few minutes. Last, we scan our bodies for any lingering areas of tightness or tension in places like the stomach, chest, throat, head, jaw, neck, or face. When we discover where we’re holding stress and somaticized emotions, we feel these areas until the tension/tightness/emotion dissolves, usually within a few minutes. Developing a greater capacity to feel also provides critical and deeper insight into our issues. The overall goal is to unblock emotions and reduce dangerous inflammation by metabolizing and processing emotions and somatic constrictions in the body. Along the way, we are also challenging old, disempowering stories and replacing them with more accurate, empowering narratives. When treatment integrates the cognitive, emotional, and somatic dimensions of our conditions, mental and physical symptoms are significantly reduced.