More ABOUT ME
"It's never too late to be what you might have been"
~Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot)
I transitioned into this field in mid-life, to follow my passion for helping people feel less alone as they navigate the messy, painful experiences that impact us all.
As a documentarian & writer, I had traveled the world helping people tell their stories. Drawing on my background from other industries and my lived experiences, I was able to connect to others across cultures, ages, genders, backgrounds and create space for them to share. And I marveled at the relief they experienced just from being witnessed and heard. Hungry to learn more how to support, empower and counsel others, I decided to become a college student again in my 40s! This gave me unique insight:
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I already understood what it meant to be a parent, partner, sister, daughter, friend
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I already had first-hand experience with loss, grief, hardship, disruption
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I already knew how difficult it could be to stop to breathe when so many were relying on me, understood the ways identity, responsibility and desire could collide
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This afforded me the ability to connect directly with my clients. To lead with compassion and understanding, while also being able to push gently at times to help them break free of negative cycles and steer towards the lives they desire. I want what my clients want, I join them in their anger and sadness, and together we look for the authentic, empowered ways they can move forward. My only "agenda" is to help clients identify their own. And go for it.
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I blend grief work and psychodynamics with an integrative, strengths- and solutions-focused approach. Because while I believe in the power of understanding the sources of anger, anxiety & unhelpful patterns, I also believe it is important to help clients rediscover their identities, power & purpose. To help them move forward into the futures & relationships they want.
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When not working, I can usually be found on a mountain, an airplane or a couch - hiking, going on adventures, or reading/movie-viewing/board-gaming with my family.
Qualifications
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Board-Certified, National Certified Counselor, National Board for Certified Counselors
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Licensed Professional Counselor Candidate for Colorado (#0021310)
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Psychotherapist, American Counseling Association
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MA, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Northwestern University
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Certification, Positive Psychology, Harvard Medical School
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BA (cum laude), English, Rice University, & post-grad studies in Documentary Film, American University
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Gottman Method Couples Therapy (Level 1)
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Facing the Mourning Facilitator
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Trainings also include: Finding Meaning After Loss; Private Rituals for Bereavement and Grief; Play Therapy for Couples & Families; Treating Depression within a Couple; The Anxiety of Grief; Treating Third Culture Kids & Expat Families; Parenting & Developmental Needs of Adolescents; LGBTQIA+ Teens & Families; Improv and Humor in Counseling