About Me

My Story

I’ve always been drawn to  supporting other people. Indeed, when I was a young child (maybe 4-5), when people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I’d say, “a counselor”! Like many therapists, growing up I was often someone friends and family would seek out for support and advice, and this role felt natural to me. However, it was through facing my own struggles and coming out the other side that I found my calling as a therapist.

In my early 20’s, I became overwhelmed with painful struggles in my own life, and the ways of dealing with issues I had used before were not helping. I began searching for a way to find relief, and eventually discovered mindfulness meditation practice. I quickly found mindfulness incredibly helpful, and began practicing intensively, including doing several silent meditation retreats between 1-10 days in length. In addition to finding mindfulness practice helpful, I also found it to be fascinating-I wanted to better understand this practice, and what was helping me so much. In reading about this, I came across recent research in neuroscience that was telling us about how mindfulness and other ways of using our minds, such as self-compassion, actually change our brains in positive ways-incredible! I sought out more information about neuroscience, psychology and psychotherapy, and learned about how mindfulness and self-compassion practices were being integrated into a tradition of therapy that emphasized scientific research collectively known as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). I tried out more and more CBT techniques in my own life, and found them to also be incredibly helpful. I especially gravitated to a type of CBT called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which combines mindfulness training, clarifying our values, and taking action towards what matters most in our lives. ACT helped me bring together many of the elements of CBT I found most helpful, and also added a deep sense of meaning and purpose to my life.

However, even with as helpful as these tools and methods were, there was something missing for me. I had seen several therapists over time, and had found them somewhat helpful, but felt like there was something I needed that I was not getting from them. Eventually I was referred by a trusted friend to a therapist who helped me not only with skills to address issues I was facing, but also took great care to focus on our relationship and connection. Rather than helping me solely with skills and tools, this therapist helped me have the experience of being truly known and cared for in relationship, and this had a profound impact on me. I am deeply grateful to my therapist for this gift, and seek to pay forward what they offered to me. 

Having seen and felt the benefits of both developing and applying practical behavioral and psychological skills, AND of having a supportive, compassionate therapeutic relationship with a therapist, I felt motivated to go back to school to study counseling and seek to share with others the practices, tools, knowledge, and ways of relating that had been and continue to be so helpful to me. During many moments in my journey I’ve thought, “I wish someone had told me/helped me with this sooner!” In my practice, I seek to be the kind of therapist that I wish I could have seen earlier on, during that painful time.