I am a therapist who believes good therapy with individuals, couples, and families means hard work—for both the patient (or patients) and therapist. Change is difficult and takes courage. With my patients, I explore the walls and defense mechanisms that they have built up over time, which, at one point, served them well but are now limitations. I help patients discover new ways of relating to the world, which requires vulnerability and mutual trust.
While pursuing my undergraduate degree in political studies, I realized what I liked about politics was how it impacts interpersonal relationships and teaches us how to exist in community with others. This led me to pursue psychotherapy, after obtaining my graduate degree from the University of Denver, with an understanding that what we believe and what we do can either coincide or clash. Simply having values isn’t enough, but it’s how we act on those values and sustain them through our relationships with ourselves and those around us. In therapy, I help patients navigate what they believe in, what they feel, what they want in their lives, and what they want to do about it.
I am committed to anti-racism both in and out of my work as a therapist. I am honored to have witnessed radical change in the hearts and minds of an anti-racist processing group I spearheaded and facilitated at a public library. In this group, I urged participants to be open and stay personal. It’s often easier to talk about larger social justice issues in generalizations or in reference to others’ actions than it is to discuss what we ourselves experience, do, and feel. I take this knowledge from my prior anti-racist work with me as a therapist. Therapy can act as a pause from what’s happening in the outside world in order to allow us to take responsibility for our lives, relationships, and the potential for enacting change in a way that can be empowering.
I am intentional in constructing an open environment for genuine connection. I previously worked with women, trans folx, youth, and families experiencing homelessness, including during the uncertain and rapidly changing early days of the pandemic. The most meaningful part of these experiences for me was building relationships with individuals and families and giving them the opportunity to be fully themselves in a comfortable space. I relished collaborating on how to make the best use of our time together, whether talking to individuals about their dreams and passions or helping families gain perspective about the ways they interact with one another. I believe the connection between a therapist and individual, couple, or family should model safe, affirming relationships in order to catalyze change outside of the therapy office.