I am most passionate about helping individuals move through barriers to change involving their sense of self, relationships, and health. How can we work together to create a specialized plan for lasting change in your life?? How can we use your body to help your mind and your mind to help your body?? Are there ways in which you feel let down by yourself and others around you? I value building relationships with my clients which are safe, dynamic and foster space for change.

I have over 27 years of experience in mental health and started as a therapist in 2019. I speak openly about my own traumas to help reduce stigma and shame for others. I also understand that my story is uniquely and only my own. Just as your story is uniquely your own. My work has given me diverse experience with various groups, including refugees, women and teens struggling with substance use, and individuals facing homelessness, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder.

These experiences have been a gift to me in the form of working relationships and helped me gain a knowledge and understanding of social injustice and systemic social traumas. I have witnessed the ways in which our mental healthcare system falls short. This is why advocacy work to end domestic violence and gender inequality is so important to me. I have my own experiences with the therapeutic journey, both good and bad. I strive to be trauma informed and aware.

A big piece of my work is about understanding and exploring harms caused by society, social groups large and small and their later impact on the self. This can be tricky to navigate for my client/s. How do we build and keep our values, build a life of meaning, AND make peace while surviving in such a complex world?

My clients and I explore these complexities, social harms, and individual strengths together. To create a wellspring of growth, which honors all parts of the self.

My style comes from my experiences in therapy and the social and cultural issues I faced as a third-generation World War II survivor. I believe in giving back, therapists have greatly helped my growth. We now have new research on childhood trauma and psychological theories. Much of this research and trauma treatments are culturally aware, trauma-informed, and developed by women who focus on the effects of abuse against women, children, and the LGBTIA+ community.

I am a childhood survivor of domestic violence, homelessness and poverty. My experiences in the mental healthcare field have taught me that self-care matters. If I want to show up rested for my clients. Individuals who desire to work with me are committed to self-growth and are empowered by seeking joy, meaning and purpose after trauma.

I understand the impact of childhood traumas, how they can negatively shape our abilities to form lasting adulthood bonds and sometimes make us feel isolated when we reach “success”. I now see the strength and power of post-traumatic growth. Each day, I am grateful to walk alongside amazing people facing personal, historical, and social obstacles. I feel honored to do this work.

What makes a Trauma Therapist different? We are not afraid to sit with you and bear witness to the path that brought you to us. Whatever you have been through… I promise it is not too much to build a safe space for.