About

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in California and Montana with over seventeen years of experience working with children, adolescents, and families. I hold a BS in Psychology as well as an MA in Marriage and Family Therapy both from George Fox University. During my internship while a student at school I developed a passion for working with children and their families and decided it would be my primary focus. After I graduated from college, I relocated to California where I spent many years working for a private non-profit agency and a foster family agency providing individual, family and group therapy in a variety of settings. In 2018 I became a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor ® and I am working towards becoming a Animal Assisted Play Therapist ® (AAPT) and have been integrating my Chocolate Labrador, Theo, into my practice. I also have training in Sandtray therapy, Art therapy, and Theraplay ®. I recently graduated from the Center for Adoption Support and Education’s Training for Adoption Competency (TAC) program. I am also a Certified Nurtured Heart Approach Trainer.
I use a person-centered, holistic, multicultural, and integrative approach in treatment. This means I begin where you are and tailor the treatment approach to your needs while being sensitive to how your individual cultural identities and lifestyle choices impact your experience. I use cognitive-behavioral therapy, mindfulness, motivational interviewing, solution-focused counseling, nurtured heart approach and play therapy.
I began my work with children and families early on in my career and decided it was where I wanted to focus my practice. I have a passion for working with children and families as I recognize the importance of them growing up in a loving home. During my early work I fell in love with play therapy recognizing that kids often don’t want to sit down and talk through their feelings, but rather they play out their feelings and experiences. With the tweens and teens I will use games, art, or other inventions to engage them and help them express their feelings and experiences.
I also believe in not only focusing on the child, but the whole family, which is why I include the parents as part of the process recognizing the family is a system, not just individual parts. My experience is parents often need support and ideas about how to support their child with whatever they might be struggling with. I love what I do and strive to meet the needs of the child and their family believing they have the strengths and resources they need to solve their problems, as they are the experts of their lives, family, and experiences.
I grew up in a little town in Montana where most of my family still lives. Theo and I get back to Montana to visit a few times each year. I love to read, run, put together jig saw puzzles, ride my bike and go for long walks by the river with Theo.