About

I am a licensed clinical social worker from a small town on the Minnesota/Wisconsin border. I am trained, and have experience, to work with people from ages 0-infinity ♾️. I started in the mental health field 20 years ago, working with individuals in a group home setting. I worked in different settings throughout that time before settling into my career as a mental health therapist, which I have been doing for over 5 years.

I have experience working with a wide range of struggles such as trauma, PTSD, disassociation (zoning out), attachment problems, personality disorders, bipolar, ADHD, autism, relationship problems, parenting, psychological abuse, physical abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, adoption and foster families, depression, anxiety, obsessions, compulsions, agorophobia, isolation, hoarding, boundary setting, self esteem and even the more severe symptoms like suicidal and homicidal ideations, as well as hallucinations and delusions.

Patience and dedication are the earmarks of therapy for both you and I, but the spirit of my work includes laughter. I specialize in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), a psychotherapy that enables people to self-heal from the emotional distress of disturbing life experiences using bilateral stimulation (both sides of your body hearing a sound or moving). EMDR therapy assists the client in changing intense memories, or colorful, emotional, pictures, into black and white photos. EMDR is especially useful for people who are reluctant to talk about their experiences because it can be done with minimal talking. I am fully trained by an EMDRIA therapist and expect to be certified soon. When doing EMDR for my phobia of snakes, I processed with my therapist for about an hour and then held a 7' snake!

Other special interests are advocacy for psychological abuse, breaking down cultural barriers for men who often are expected not to have emotions or get therapy and to enlighten those who judge others for extreme behaviors that often follow severe trauma, such as substance use or eccentric behaviors.

My typical treatment plan:
????‍♀‍Encourage you to do at least 3 self-cares a day (Fun!) and talk with you about your life on a day to day basis in messaging.
????‍♀‍During that time, I'll assist you in identifying your negative thoughts and subsequent positive thoughts you want to think.
????‍♀‍ We can decrease your reactions and intensity of your negative thoughts during phone sessions (I'm currently staying on an island and service can be iffy).
????‍♀‍We can do EMDR processing via video when you've developed good self-care skills and rapport between us. (I can go into town for better service).

I need self-care as well and therefore do not work on Saturday and Sunday.