I am a psychotherapist and Certified Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) Teacher who has been working in the human services field for over thirty years. Before becoming a therapist, I enjoyed a successful career in social work, non-profit program management and development. I have a master's degree from the University of Minnesota and am licensed as an independent clinical social worker (LICSW) through the Minnesota Board of Social Work (#11006). I am also an EMDRIA Certified EMDR therapist and specialize in the treatment of grief and loss, anxiety, ptsd, developmental trauma, adjustment and mood disorders. I have a particular interest in complicated grief and ambiguous loss. I work with older adolescents (15+) and adults, and my client base is varied across gender, ethnicity and religious and sexual orientation. I draw upon the latest research in neuro-biological and attachment theories to help individuals, couples and families heal from suffering. In addition to my therapy work, I am trained in Jon Kabat Zinn's Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program and facilitate trainings and workshops in the community on a variety of topics related to emotional and whole-body health.
I use a variety of therapeutic techniques to help focus my clinical work. I use EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy with many clients. EMDR therapy is an integrative psychotherapy approach that is based on the theory that much of psychopathology is due to traumatic experience or disturbing life events that are stored in memory networks over time. I also draw upon concepts from attachment theory to help clients understand the ways in which our unique view of self and the world is rooted in our earliest relationships. I use narrative therapy to help clients make meaning out of their experiences and create new life scripts that identify and reinstate lost resources. I also incorporate techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy into my work - identifying maladaptive patterns of thinking and behaving while introducing new possibilities for engagement in the present moment. I also believe in the power of the body to store as well as heal, loss and trauma and use interventions from somatic psychotherapy to help clients achieve physical mastery over their symptoms and create a renewed sense of well being. Many of the clients with whom I work struggle with anxiety. As a Certified Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher, I teach mindfulness skills that can help calm and soothe the body and mind.
I use a variety of therapeutic techniques to help focus my clinical work. I use EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy with many clients. EMDR therapy is an integrative psychotherapy approach that is based on the theory that much of psychopathology is due to traumatic experience or disturbing life events that are stored in memory networks over time. I also draw upon concepts from attachment theory to help clients understand the ways in which our unique view of self and the world is rooted in our earliest relationships. I use narrative therapy to help clients make meaning out of their experiences and create new life scripts that identify and reinstate lost resources. I also incorporate techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy into my work - identifying maladaptive patterns of thinking and behaving while introducing new possibilities for engagement in the present moment. I also believe in the power of the body to store as well as heal, loss and trauma and use interventions from somatic psychotherapy to help clients achieve physical mastery over their symptoms and create a renewed sense of well being. Many of the clients with whom I work struggle with anxiety. As a Certified Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher, I teach mindfulness skills that can help calm and soothe the body and mind.