I received my Masters of Science in Counseling Psychology from the University of Oregon in 1994. I started out in the field 20 years ago co-leading groups for teens in personal growth, communication skills and outdoor team building. Later, I worked in the schools counseling young teens. For several years, I worked in-home with families in the court system. I went on to provide counseling to individuals, couples, and families at agency settings. At these agencies, I also taught parenting classes, led parent support groups, and co-facilitated juvenile sex offender and play therapy groups.
Later, I took several years away and worked in a corporate setting. Eventually, I decided that I wanted to return to the field in private practice. Here is where I've found my place - to engage with people who are invested in their work of self-discovery. This intimate process that helps people feel more at ease in the world is moving, energizing, and gratifying. I am always honored by people sharing their life stories with me, as we engage in this healing connection and experience the discovery and growth along the way.
Personally, I draw energy and feel grounded from the outdoors (hiking, canoeing, backpacking) - being up in the mountains, near the ocean, or noticing the sunset. I appreciate the opportunity to be still- both in daily life as well as out in nature. So I also engage in a meditation practice - which helps me to remember to be alive here in the present moment, to notice what's right in front of me, and to accept my life as it is. I firmly believe in the mind-body connection - and the essential gift we give to ourselves by being present in our bodies and in our lives. We can learn to live from our hearts, and to nurture ourselves by cultivating connection with ourselves, with trusted others, and with the natural world.