Meet Our Therapists

I enjoy helping young adults and other adults find relief from stress, generalized anxiety, panic attacks, and social anxiety that may have arisen from life transitions, identity and relationship concerns, difficult family relationships, harsh self-criticism, or adverse childhood events such as bullying, abuse, or other trauma. For clients who are interested, I also have specialized training and experience in integrating a client’s spirituality into their care. 

My approach centers on helping my clients build coping skills, get in touch with and process their emotions, and improve self-understanding. I would work collaboratively with you to tailor interventions to match your concerns, lived experiences, and preferences. Using a trauma-informed and culturally sensitive lens, I integrate emotion-focused therapy with cognitive and behavioral interventions, self-compassion, and mindfulness skills. This approach allows us to build your coping skills, change unhelpful patterns, alleviate painful and distressing emotions, and help you live more fully and authentically.

Clients have said they appreciate my gentle, non-judgmental, and affirming style. In session, you will find that I am warm, calm, collaborative, and if appropriate, humorous. I strive to create a safe and accepting therapeutic environment to foster healing and growth. 

The first session helps establish rapport and gives us a sense of how we might best work together. I would like to learn what brings you to therapy and gather some context for your concerns. Therefore, I will also ask you about your history and factors that may contribute to or worsen your current issues. Additionally, we will work together to formulate your goals for therapy and create an initial plan towards meeting your treatment goals. My view is that you are the expert of your own experience while I bring empathy, expertise, and experience to the therapy process. Therefore, we would work together to translate what you would like to get out of therapy into actionable goals. We will then revisit your goals periodically and adjust them as needed to ensure we are on track with what you wish to accomplish.

In my first career I was a chemical engineer and worked part-time as a spiritual director. How did I decide to become a psychologist? A series of personal losses led me on a journey of spiritual and personal growth. As I worked through my difficulties, I felt a growing passion to guide others on their own healing journeys. The mission that became clear to me after this trying time was to help others pursue authentic, meaningful, and abundant lives. This mission led me to become a psychologist and drives my desire to pursue excellence and increase compassion in my work.

I earned my doctorate in psychology at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology (Schaumburg) in 2018. I am a licensed clinical psychologist and offer statewide telehealth services to individuals and couples in California and Washington, and in-person therapy in Blaine, WA.

I primarily work with adults who are experiencing anxiety or depression related to various factors. This includes difficulties in adjusting to stressful conditions, such as relationship issues or life transitions, including changes in one’s beliefs or values. I often work with clients who are on a journey of healing from difficult experiences or medical issues. I also work with clients who wish to incorporate their spirituality into treatment. My goal is to help my clients adapt to whatever challenges life presents, fostering greater fulfillment and reducing emotional pain. 

I listen with compassion and empathy and collaborate with my clients so that painful experiences and emotions are made life-giving. I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to alleviate anxiety and depression by helping to replace inaccurate thoughts with more helpful ones. Additionally, I incorporate Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) to support clients in experiencing and processing what is going on emotionally.

I provide a safe, accepting, and affirming environment for you to talk about whatever is going on. I actively listen for emotional cues that provide insights into what is essential for your progress and healing. We will identify and explore key areas and promote meaningful growth. My clients often describe feeling understood and validated, appreciating the fact that I give them my full attention and engage in interactive and collaborative therapy sessions.

During our first session, we will talk about what brings you to therapy and explore enough of your life story to help me understand these issues in context. We will review a short questionnaire that gauges your current levels of anxiety and depression. I will help you make informed decisions and collaborate with you in the therapeutic process. Thus we co-create a working plan to address your primary concerns. 

For as long as I can remember, I have had a passion to help people improve their lives. Helping people learn to think for themselves as a college critical thinking instructor showed me that the way to health and wholeness lies in therapy that can transform painful events and feelings to bring about growth and energy. So I went back to graduate school and got a degree in counseling from Loyola University Chicago in 2007. I have now been a fully licensed professional counselor for 14 years. I provide telehealth services to clients living in California, Illinois, and Washington State, and in-person services in Blaine, WA.