About

Welcome to my profile! You may be here because you're not really sure what to do with all of the proverbial balls in the air in your life. Nothing like a global pandemic to throw an added wrench in your plans for yourself, whether it's related to work, relationships, parenting, emotional health, or your social life. Spending all of that time with yourself, or with your family, has perhaps reminded you that therapy seems like a good idea. You want someone who can be responsive, compassionate, and help you manage all of this, while making some changes to how you do things along the way. Maybe you have a lot of stress and trauma in your history or your upbringing, and you're concerned about how it's impacting you today? Perhaps you're experiencing a wave of doing well some days, and not wanting to get out of bed on others? If these things describe you, I'm here to help! I've been helping people with attachment-focused work since 2006, in real time and through distance work. I've worked with children, teens, and adults, and really appreciate being able to help people explore, grow, and most importantly thrive through their journeys. For some that's navigating and leaving abusive situations, or healing from past experiences of abuse and trauma. For others, it may be exploring their sense of themselves with respect to gender, sexuality, and all that comes with it. Life presents different kinds of challenges at different points, whether that's making a career shift or job change, leaving or entering college, or changing who and how you show up in relationships. Most importantly, I can help!

My professional background is pretty extensive, but the highlights are that I am independently licensed to practice as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in the state of Illinois. I completed my graduate training at Northern Illinois University, and also have post-graduate training in play therapy, Theraplay, substance abuse counseling, sexual assault and abuse, domestic violence, and experiential therapies such as drama, art, and music therapy. In addition, I have specialized training and ongoing consultation surrounding issues of trauma and dissociation, and am trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR.) I'm currently in a combined training program to complete my Registered Drama Therapy and Registered Expressive Arts Therapy credentials, and enjoy using experiential work with clients. While experiential work is adaptable to video-based therapy, I am also trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). I've worked in all levels of care including emergency rooms, inpatient psychiatric units, and Partial Hospital Programs (also called PHP's), as well as community mental health, group practice, and private practice. I really like to use a mix of techniques to best fit a person's needs, traditionally involving psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Sometimes that involves learning more tools for your coping skill tool box. Sometimes that involves understanding more about your history and your journey, as well as your personal attachment style, so that you know your tendencies in interactions with others. My clients describe me as a good mix of helping with present-day concerns, while also exploring and helping to change longer-term patterns that underlie their current concerns. I appreciate helping people in understanding how their life journeys have led them to their present concerns, and work hard at uncovering and helping people to undo patterns they may find less effective.

Personally, I've done a lot of my own therapeutic work, and continue to participate in my own growth opportunities, including therapy. At different times in my journey, I've also used online types of therapy as well as traditional in-person settings. I really like the flexibility that online therapy provides, and work hard to create a space of mutual respect, trust, and safety where clients can feel free to show up as they are in the moment. Some days that's pajamas, some days that's coming to session with a list of things you'd like to address, we're all different! Balancing thoughtful and constructive feedback with lighter moments of humor or play is important in how I prefer to work with folks. People need space to experience a range of feelings - including positive ones - in therapy. Otherwise, why would folks keep coming back to hear about what's wrong or not working all the time? Change is hard enough as it is - let's at least enjoy the process together!