My therapy style is warm, engaging, and empathetic, as well as active and goal-oriented. I treat depression and anxiety with all that these encompass: from interpersonal conflicts to panic to parenthood, to grief and loss. I have 10 years of experience with acute/chronic illnesses, including cancer. I also have extensive training and experience working with trauma, utilizing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as the foundation of my practice and offering both Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and Flash Techniques virtually for trauma processing. My approach is gentle, down-to-earth, and collaborative, designed to build on your strengths and values.

I remember the exact day when I decided I wanted to work in mental health. I was working at the county jail in Tucson, interviewing arrestees as the officers brought them in. We had an arrestee in a holding cell one evening who attempted suicide. He was resuscitated and began to sob. I watched as the arresting officer went in to speak with him. "Why did you do that?!" the officer demanded. Even as a person with no mental health training at that time, I knew that was the wrong thing to say, and I felt could do a much better job, but I didn't have the credentials. That was a catalyst for me. I wanted to be the person who said the right thing. I wanted to help, not make things worse. So, I applied to graduate school to get my MSW.

Outside of work, I love to travel and recently spent three weeks in Mexico improving my Spanish. I love learning languages and also speak a bit of Hindi. When I'm not traveling, I enjoy being home with my family, hanging out with my daughter, and our zoo of pets, including cats, snakes, rats, fish, and axolotls. I love creative writing and have done some poetry therapy with interested clients.

This may be an eccentric form of self-care, but I love getting out one of my snakes and doing tasks around the house with a friend around my neck like a scarf. All of my animals bring me a lot of joy and they help me re-center when I need comfort or connection. I also try to read or watch something that makes me laugh every day…I have always felt that laughter is so healing, and I incorporate this into my personal life and my work as much as possible.

I guess you could say I do have pets! We have several cats, two axolotls, a handful of fish, 18 snakes (non-venomous), and two rats. People ask me if my snakes have ever gotten loose in the house, and despite the fact that we are very careful about keeping them contained (for their own protection, not ours), it has happened that a snake has gotten out after discovering a small exit that we didn't see. Our baby sand boa escaped from her terrarium one night while we slept and found her way into a sock that had fallen out of the laundry basket.