PHILOSOPHY AND THERAPEUTIC APPROACH

What if there is more than this? Frequently, clients and parents will tell me ways they feel stuck and ask “is that normal?” I think what we’re really asking each other is…“Is there hope for change, or should we just accept the darkness and hardships?” 

I believe we were designed to experience more out of life, and that change is possible. Not a simple surface level change, but change at the root of our experiences. By exploring the integration of sound theology, psychology, and neurobiology, I believe we can journey together to find the thriving and abundant life God is offering us (John 10:10). 

This belief shapes my therapeutic approach because I am not afraid to sit with you or your child on this journey for as long as it needs to be. Sometimes this journey looks very different from what we want or expect, but having a space that we, both adults and kids, can show up in connection with someone else plays a huge role in how we experience change.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN THERAPY

My hope is, as you or your loved one come into this space, you can experience security in order to feel fully seen. That your soul will feel safe and soothed. While you may be in a dark or difficult part of your story, this is not the end. 

By coming into therapy, I see how you are already trusting God and yourself for new changes. By coming alongside you, I want to empower you to continue on your best path forward. The path forward may bring up many different emotions, but you are not alone. By journeying together, I hope to minimize any impacts of shame or loneliness in your journey, and provide a space for you to unravel the roots behind these symptoms. 

When I work with a child or teen, the process begins by connecting with you as the parents to establish the hope and goals for your child. I want you to feel empowered to help your child at home, while creating a place in therapy for your child to work through hard stuff. With children under the age of 12, play therapy helps model emotional regulation, increase emotional resilience, and enters into the child’s world by using their language of play. With kids 13 and up, I work to help create a place for your teenager to focus on what they want   to process while feeling safe and seen. Ultimately, I love to create empowered spaces for your child to choose their path to healing while using research-based modalities of care. 

As an individual in therapy, you have autonomy and ownership over what we accomplish and when. Our first few sessions generally are getting to know where you find yourself. I want to work together to earn your trust. I take a relational approach, also taking into account your neurobiology and relational factors, or how different parts of you may be showing up in the room.

The counseling world offers many different theories about how therapy works. I use perspectives from attachment, somatic, interpersonal neurobiology, narrative, and parts work. Alongside these theories, the most powerful factor is you. I want to know you and your story to be able to offer the tools that are most impactful. I am drawn to these modalities in particular because I believe they intercept us when we shame spiral, and help us understand the disconnect between what we may be able to cognitively know and what we embody within ourselves.

PERSONAL QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

In 2018, I graduated with a B.S. in psychology with an emphasis in human services from University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point. After graduation, I applied my love for people and the brain into a Christian non-profit that works on different college campuses to help be a spiritual resource to college students. I learned how to adapt with people, journey alongside others in a meaningful way, and found myself drawn to the integration of one’s cognitive beliefs and embodied experience. 

In January of 2021, I began my masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Denver Seminary and graduated in December 2023. Since graduating, I have found joy in working kids, teens, young adults, adults, elderly, couples and families to help them unravel where something is not aligning with their cognitive beliefs and embodied experience.

PERSONAL INTERESTS

My favorite fiction book is A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman. The way Backman writes captures the human experience from grief to redemption through the power of community. Along with reading, I love to care for the houseplants in my home. I currently have 30 throughout my house (yep, I just counted), and love to keep an eye out for new plants to add to my collection. 

When I first moved to Denver, I began my hunt for the best coffee shops, and even created a spreadsheet of all the ones I visited and rated them in different categories. Each coffee shop is rated for coffee, seating, design, and plants (of course!), and then is given a two-word phrase to describe the energy. Currently, my favorite is Sweet Bloom in Westminster because it scores high in all the categories! 

Along with houseplants and my coffee shop rating system, I love to do things that give me joy like geeking out on nerdy movies: any Star Wars and Harry Potter fans? I love painting with watercolors, creating flower bouquets, and making treats!

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