ABOUT
The way we understand ourselves changes everything
Before I tell you about my training or experience, I'd like to tell you what guides my work.
I believe we are wired for wholeness. Many of the patterns we struggle with today began as intelligent adaptations to earlier experiences. When we understand that, the question shifts from "What's wrong with me?" to "What happened?"
When we begin to understand our patterns in context rather than in isolation, shame often gives way to compassion.
So many people come to therapy already understanding why they struggle. They've read the books, listened to the podcasts, reflected deeply, and developed remarkable insight. Yet despite that understanding, they still find themselves reacting in ways they wish they could change.
That realization fundamentally shaped the way I practice.
How I learned to listen
Long before I was a psychologist I was learning to pay attention
Growing up on a farm taught me to slow down and pay attention. Nature rarely rushed, yet it was always changing. Looking back, I realize those early experiences shaped something that has stayed with me ever since: meaningful change begins with careful observation rather than force.
That curiosity led me to psychology, but it didn't stop there. Throughout my career, I've continued searching for deeper ways to understand people and what supports lasting change.
That search led me to study psychoanalysis, depth psychology, relational and intersubjective psychotherapy, neuropsychology, attachment theory, somatic psychology, Brainspotting, Internal Family Systems, feminist theory, dance movement therapy, mindfulness, energy psychology, and other experiential approaches.
Although each approach spoke a slightly different language, they all invited me to look beyond symptoms and ask what experiences had shaped the person sitting in front of me.
My clients have been among my greatest teachers. Over more than two decades, I've had the privilege of witnessing extraordinary resilience, courage, and transformation. Again and again, I saw that many people understood why they struggled, yet insight alone wasn't changing deeply rooted patterns. That realization led me to listen beyond words - to the nervous system, to the body, to the relational field between us, and to the intelligence held within the adaptations people had developed over a lifetime.
Life beyond the therapy room has continued to shape me
just as deeply. Travel introduced me to different cultures, ways of living, and ways of making meaning - expanding both my compassion and my comfort with uncertainty. My own experiences have also taught me how to show up in a deeper capacity - I used what I learned from my own traumas to help others, once I had integrated them.
Emergency surgeries in my thirties, followed years later by a traumatic brain injury, invited me into spaces I had previously understood primarily clinically and through the lens of my clients. Living through these experiences myself gave me a deeper appreciation for what so many of my clients had been teaching me all along - how to slow down, to really listen to my body's wisdom, to ask for and accept help, and to trust that change unfolds in its own time.
Together, my clients and my own life continue to shape the way I practice. They remind me, again and again, that who we become is shaped as much by how we meet our experiences as by the experiences themselves. The principles below reflect the way I strive to meet both my work and my life.
The Principles That Guide My Work
These experiences have gradually led me to one central idea: the practice of right relationship. To me, right relationship is an ongoing practice of living in alignment with our values and relating to ourselves, others, and the natural world. As we cultivate this way of being, we expand our capacity for connection, belonging, beauty, joy, and pleasure. The principles below are the qualities I strive to embody in both my work and my life.
Compassion
Compassion is the practice of meeting ourselves and others with grace. It combines empathy with healthy boundaries, allowing us to remain open, present, and connected without abandoning ourselves.
Curiosity
Curiosity is a way of being. It asks us to loosen our grip on certainty and become genuinely interested in what our thoughts, emotions, bodies, and relationships may be trying to communicate. Curiosity creates space where certainty often closes it.
Authenticity
Authenticity is the practice of living in alignment with what feels deeply true. It asks us to move beyond old roles, expectations, and survival patterns so we can respond from a place that is more congruent with who we are.
Collaboration
Collaboration begins with the understanding that therapy is something we create together. I bring my clinical knowledge and experience; you bring the wisdom of your own life. Together, we work to better understand your experience, uncover your strengths, and create the conditions for greater freedom, choice, and connection.
Integrity
Integrity is where our values and actions align. I strive to practice in ways that reflect what I believe to be true, remaining open to learning while staying grounded in the principles that guide my work.
If what you've read resonates with you, you've probably sensed that I don't see therapy as fixing what's broken - I see it as creating the conditions for people to reconnect with themselves, relate to their experiences with greater compassion, and live with more freedom, authenticity, and joy.
If that way of understanding people and change resonates with you, I would welcome the opportunity to work together.