About me
Starting young
My grandmother would tell you my interest in psychology was there from the start. She often recounts that, as a child, I had memorized an extensive family tree and knew birth ordering and relational ties between family members better than many of the adults.
This interest gathered momentum as I grew. As a child and adolescent, I gravitated toward spending my time with people or reading about them in novels. People and their stories were (and still are) the most compelling part of life to me.
In college, I took a few psychology courses but focused on English Literature - and loved it! By graduation I knew I wanted to get involved with real people and their stories.
Initial training
At the Institute for the Psychological Sciences in Arlington, VA, I found a graduate school with individualized training from skilled professors and supervisors.
This training program incorporated philosophical considerations of the human person along with more scientific studies and theories.
In 2013, I moved to Denver, Colorado in order to pursue an internship that allowed for a variety of training experiences including therapy, testing, and working with children in schools.
After receiving a doctorate in clinical psychology in 2015, I decided to stay in Denver and eventually became the director of testing at the local Catholic Charities psychology clinic: St. Raphael Counseling. I worked there until 2020.
Now I have a private practice in the Denver area.
Specialties
Individual Therapy
I’ve had the opportunity to engage in various levels of training in the following methods: Emotion Focused Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy, and Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy.
Play Therapy
I am deeply interested in the psychological development of children. In graduate school, I was introduced to the empirically-validated Non-Directive Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT), and I trained with Dr. William Nordling, an author and international supervisor of this method. This method of therapy is truly incredible; I’ve watched children find significant growth and change in just a handful of session.
In addition, I offer to teach parents how to play therapeutically with their children. The method I use focuses on transforming the parent-child relationship into one built on secure attachment and bonds of connection and positive feelings. From this bond, parents find healthy and successful modes of disciplining and implementing consequences.
Therapeutic Assessment
This is a brief intervention to help people bring about profound change their lives. It involves intense testing sessions focused on the client’s way of being in the world and how to make real and immediate changes toward healing, freedom, and joy.
In 2016, I had the opportunity to attend a training with Stephen Finn and his team of psychologists who have developed this empirically validated technique.
Safe and Sound Protocol
More recently I have become interested in incorporating body-based treatments in my practice. This protocol focuses directly on neurological change in the central nervous system. I was first a patient of this method and then received training in 2020.
Still learning
In more than fifteen years in psychology I’ve learned two things:
1) My effectiveness as a therapist depends directly on my commitment to growth, healing transformation through my own therapeutic work. I’ve learned to be the client and to make my mental health a priority.
2) I still have a lot to learn! My interests in psychology are varied and include therapy, testing, and working with children, adolescents, and adults. Each of these areas takes a great deal of constant studying and ongoing supervision in order to provide quality care to my clients.