On Being Anxious

I have been practicing as an individual therapist since 2003, and as an anxiety specialist for over ten years, however, I have been studying and learning how to manage and deal with stress and anxiety since I was a teenager.  I too have struggled with anxiety, chronic stress and overthinking. At times I may have let myself be defined by them.  I like to think I have a handle on it, but like everything in life it is a constant balance I am working on.

On Living With Grief

In 2005, I experienced the life altering traumatic loss of my then fiancé.  I spent the next years of my life personally exploring the grief process and exploring my way through the abyss of loss and heartache, trying to make sense of this new life I was forced into.  If I learned anything from my personal experience with such a life altering loss, it is this:

• Very few people will truly be able to sit with you and your grief.  Try as they might, people can’t or don’t understand what an unexpected or out of order (losing a child or younger person) loss does to a person
• Death makes people very uncomfortable.  This makes those of us left grieving feel very alone.

On Wholehearted Living, Mindfulness and Authenticity

I too am human and I have struggled with some of the symptoms and life experiences you may be experiencing right now.  Like many, I have sought the assistance of a professional to help me navigate my way through my feelings and make sense of my own journey.  My work is dedicated to helping others who find themselves struggling within their own life experiences.

My work with clients is not only based on years of practical application that I have been able to use within my own life and while helping others, but is grounded in clinical evidence and interventions.  I have studied the cutting edge work of Tara Brach, Brené Brown, John Gottman, Aaron Beck, Megan Devine, Elaine Aron, Stephen Porges, and Deb Dana.  I have attended countless trainings on evidenced based interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness based stress reduction, and exposure response prevention.  I have spent the later part of my life studying and mastering clinical interventions to help those struggling with anxiety, stress, depression, and grief.

The defining characteristic of my work is intuition. I have always been intrigued and passionate about the human emotional experience and I have spent my life exploring this.  My work comes very naturally to me.  Much of the work I do with clients I practice myself.  I can read a room well and I can intuit when a client needs an intervention, some help diving into their experience or just someone to sit with them and honor the experience they are having at that moment.

On Acceptance

I don’t practice with people to help them change who they are.  I work with people so they can become more of who they are.  I help others learn and accept the core of who they are and how those traits might impact their relationships and life experiences.  I believe wholeheartedly in accepting who we are and our experience of life.  I believe by learning to work with ourselves instead of against ourselves we can learn to live more fulfilling lives. This is what my work as a therapist is all about.

“Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing we will ever do.”

-Brené Brown