Philosophy and Therapeutic Approach
Welcome. I’m so glad you’re here. I know you may be hurting, and I want you to know that I understand loss and pain. This is a non-judgemental space. My greatest desire is to provide space for you to feel heard and supported. My goal is for this to be your space. Where you feel you can talk about anything and everything.
I utilize an integrative approach, using our genuine relationship as a foundation to explore and identify challenges and disruptions within your best-lived life (Jn. 10:10). I spent many years working in clinical settings, both inpatient and outpatient, and combine a breadth of expertise with some “beard stroking” moments where we can pause and consider deeper concepts on a soul-level. I use evidence-based treatment modalities such as CBT, ACT, Brainspotting, and elements of DBT to help you find the transformation you’re seeking.
What to Expect in Therapy
Everything moves really fast out there. It’s recently been said that we don’t even think in complete sentences anymore as a society, there’s a pressure to be able to handle everything and anything, all at the same time. To both survive and succeed, we are pressured to keep going.
The therapeutic space allows for a breath of relaxation, reprieve, and relief. I want you to have a space where you can pause. A place where you can slow down and take a break. I cultivate a positive environment enriched with kindness. You can expect me to take a conversational approach, with a back-and-forth in narrative and discussion. I deeply believe in the power of story, and am honored to hear yours.
You can expect to know you’re not doing this alone. You can expect questions without right/wrong answers, or maybe some silence as I seek to hear you, to understand you, to support you, to encourage you, to advocate for you, to reinforce you, and at times challenge you. Change is hard. Considering change is hard. I also look for opportunities to laugh—you can laugh with me or laugh at me, or we can do both! I strive to provide a healing and supportive presence while we figure it out, together.
Personal Qualifications and Experience
I spent the majority of my young adult life engaged in a myriad of roles in youth and music ministry for youth camps and churches. It was the relationships, experiences, and opportunities though those years that honed my heart toward settling in as a Christian counselor. I graduated from Denver Seminary in 2011 with a Master’s of Arts in Community Counseling and I spent 12 years working with children, adolescents, and young adults at the Pediatric Mental Health Institute through Children’s Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado.
Working with young people has kept me young and feeds my ability to support the younger generation through the complexities and challenges of today’s experience. I aim to provide space for developing a non-judgmental, gracious, and safe opportunity to be authentic.
Personal Interests
Getting out and enjoying God’s creation is essential for my spirit, yet only second to time spent with my family. I’ve been blessed to experience and continue to enjoy many outdoor activities from skiing and hiking the mountains to surfing and scuba diving the oceans. My favorite travels are to the Caribbean and my goal is to return as often as possible.
Bike rides with my daughters are often the highlight of my week. I still have an affinity for movies, sports (Iowa Hawkeye football), and video games in my old age, but most often can be found reading, researching, or listening to podcasts (philosophy, psychology, archeology/history, theology, technology). I always have music playing and occasionally tinker on the guitar, as well.
