About

I currently live in Denver, Colorado with my family and work full time for the Veterans Affairs Health Administration as a mental health and suicide prevention coordinator. Although I live in Denver, I am credentialed and licensed in the state of Oregon where I run Arcturus Counseling, a small, part time tele-mental health practice. I have over 20 years experience working in mental health in both community and clinical setting with a variety of populations including children, teens, families, adults and seniors as well as service members , veterans, and their families and have specialization in suicide prevention and self harm behaviors.

My philosophy and approach to therapy includes a strong believe that most everything in life is learned through experience. How those experiences show up in our present everyday lives is the context upon which we will use in therapy. Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) is the primary treatment modality I choose to engage clients in counseling practice. ACT is a value driven process. Goals are tailored and developed to target unmet needs or “core yearnings”. These needs include connection, belonging, the ability to experiencing the full range of emotions more deeply to promote personal growth and well-being. Putting trust in the process is putting trust in yourself upon where meaningful outcomes can be realized and achieved. Sessions generally run once per week for 8-12 weeks with opportunities for follow up sessions. Additional sessions may be needed to support newly acquired or targeted behaviors, review progress, possible setbacks and work to sustain your treatment goals and outcomes.

My formal training & education includes a Master’s degree of Social Work (MSW, 2003) from the University of Alaska Anchorage. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW # L8379) in the state of Oregon. My experience has included working with adults, children, youth and families in school and community settings in the areas of both prevention and treatment of behavioral health, substance use disorders and the prevention of suicide. I am also a trained recreation therapist running adventure-based wilderness programs including river rafting, skiing, rock climbing, kayaking, backpacking and facilitating youth oriented outdoor challenge courses.