My path to …with Intention was not direct–a nearly-native Tucsonan, my first career was teaching elementary school in Washington, DC with Teach for America. Making my way back to Arizona with 2 little kids and my older step daughters, I found myself drawn to social work. Since 2010, I have worked with humans of every age in a variety of social work roles– child and family therapist for young children and their caregivers, hospice social worker, care coordinator, preventionist, couples therapist and now, private practice therapist. 

 

My approach to therapy is guided by the depths of my personal and professional experience.  I am a mom, a stepmom, and a grandma.  I was for a time, a military spouse in a relationship that has transitioned to co-parents of some awesome young adults. I have survived cancer both as a patient and a partner, experiences which have shaped my perspective on authentic vulnerability, boundaries, partnership, and resilience.

 

I look to understand how we learned about our acceptability, our safety and our abilities through a lens of Attachment and Learning. My training in Attachment-based and Trauma-focused modalities guide this process to explore the ways our early experiences  shape our present-day world view and our body’s response to stressors. Most of us don’t set out to have a blowout argument with our partner about the dishes when we get home, but it happens. A lot.

(SPOILER ALERT: it’s not the dishes.)

So what do we do when we find ourselves feeling stuck and disconnected? I look to somatic (body-based) approaches, EMDR as well as Cognitive-Behavioral interventions to support my clients to reduce the impact of stressors and to create new patterns in a collaborative style of counseling that honors each person’s unique experiences. I help my clients apply evidence-based strategies to their lives and relationships to live (and love ) ...with Intention.