My Mission: to help my clients find, embody, honor, and heal the parts of themselves that love to be playful, loving, curious, and pleasure seeking, but instead have been rewired for protection and avoidance by the traumatic experiences they have survived.
For the past ten years I've been working in various capacities as a professional caregiver and supporter. I have experience working with children, adolescents, and adults to cope with anxiety, depression, addiction, trauma, and life transitions. I earned my Master's degree from Naropa University in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with an emphasis in Transpersonal Wilderness Therapy, and a Bachelor's of Science in Psychology from Middle Tennessee State university.
“I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright.” –Henry David Thoreau
More About Me Inspired by a firm belief in the healing power of nature, I moved to Colorado from Tennessee in order to pursue my Master's degree in wilderness therapy. While I'd always planned on moving back to the South, I ended up meeting a fantastic woman, got married, and decided to plant roots here in Fort Collins.
My Calling To Mental Health became clear to me from the time I was in high school. My successful, but long, struggle to overcome depression, anxiety, self-harm, addiction, and suicidal ideation drove me to study psychology as an undergraduate. In college, and throughout my life, I was privileged to be a support to my closest friends as they struggled through mental health and trauma. Their stories and challenges sparked my passion for helping others to heal from the wounds of violence.
Community Organization and Activism to combat systems of oppression and injustice was a natural extension of me experiences supporting my friends and family. I've seen first hand the impact sexual and domestic violence, systemic racism, queer and transphobia, and patriarchy have had on my closets friends.
However, it wasn't until I stepped in to doing the necessary and challenging work of owning my privilege that I became able to listen to the voices of oppressed and marginalized people/s, challenge oppressive systems, and create safe and egalitarian spaces. My work as a therapist specializing in sexual assault is the embodiment of my activism, and is at the heart of who I am as a person.
Today is a good day to take the next step
My Career as a Therapist Feeds My Soul I could do a lot of other things in life, but few other paths would allow me to celebrate the changes I get to see in you, my clients.
My Career in a Nutshell For the past nine years I have dedicated myself to becoming an ethical, compassionate, and grounded healer though thousands of hours of study and direct client contact.
My career path these past nine years has led me to work in various roles directly with cis, trans, LGBQ, and BIPOC youth and adults. I’ve been a:
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Case Manager for impoverished community members in inner-city Nashville, TN.
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Field Staff Guide for a wilderness therapy program in southern Appalachia.
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Direct Care Staff in a run-away and homeless youth shelter.
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One on One and Milieu Counselor for young people trying to confront their addictions.
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Support Group Facilitator for male survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
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Non-Profit Individual and Group Therapist for survivors of sexual assault
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Educational Support Group Facilitator for secondary survivors (parents, romantic partners, etc...) of sexual violence.
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Sex Offender Management Board Therapist working directly with young men who have perpetrated sexual violence.
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Private Practice Therapist focusing on supporting you to heal from sexual violence and trauma.
So watch the thought and its ways with care,
And let it spring from love
Born out of concern for all beings.
- The Buddha
The thought manifests as the word;
The word manifests as the deed;
The deed develops into habit;
And habit hardens into character.
A Mindfulness Approach Mindfulness is the nonjudgmental awareness and acceptance of our moment to moment experience. It is at the heart of who I am as a person. And it is the core of my offerings as a healer. Mindfulness can help us create safety in relationship, in our environments, and in our bodies. This safety is the essential foundation of having a successful therapeutic relationship and healing journey.
A Transpersonal Approach Transpersonal literally means beyond the personal. It is a unique and diverse state of being in which we feel genuinely connected to other living things, our environment, and deeper parts of ourselves. While you might think this means lots of meditation (and for some it does), I've found that this feeling can also be achieved through everyday experiences. We can feel powerfully connected to our family while we're doing the dishes which is an act of service and care. We can feel a sense of unity with other living things while we take a walk in the woods, or even while sitting in our backyard.
As a Transpersonal therapist, I take the perspective that we are capable of achieving something more than healing from traumatic wounds, or no longer feeling depressed. We're able to connect in to something more. Something bigger. And something powerful. Exploring the transpersonal is an often over looked, but fundamental, part of taking a holistic approach to healing.
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