I can still remember some spirited debates in grad school about self-disclosure… how much to share, what to share, when to share… so many societal norms in therapy, that, honestly, I’d like to dismantle. I can also still remember the first time I went to therapy. I was 20. I walked into my therapist’s office, saw a few seating options, and asked, “Where would you prefer I sit?” to which he replied, “Sit anywhere you’d like.” Maybe because I was raised by a father who was a psychiatrist, maybe it was my foundational knowledge from the therapy degree I was
pursuing, or maybe it was my resistance to the antiquated hierarchy that I still see in many of our mental health settings, but I sat in what appeared to be “his chair.” The next week, he shared that he typically sat there, to which I replied, “That’s why I asked.” I did gain a lot from working with him; however, that experience highlighted just how much I value transparency and empowerment in all therapeutic spaces.
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I was hooked from a young age on the power of our mind and bodies to lead us in the right direction when we step out of the traditional “boxes” that we sometimes call “home.” There is so much that we think we need to keep, that we can actually release; so many resources inside us, even when we are sure they don’t exist; so many possibilities for our future, even when it seems impossible for change to occur. These beliefs propelled me to choose a career path that has allowed me to focus on how we can access the insight and wisdom living deep inside our bodies, often outside of our conscious awareness, that feels hard to reach - to make sense of really tough stuff for which we sometimes don't have words - and to release emotions that have lived in us for, potentially, a very long time. I have a Master of Science Degree in Music Therapy with an emphasis in Counseling Psychology from Radford University. My philosophical- psychotherapeutic lens is trauma informed, solution-focused, and depth-oriented. My work is heavily shaped by internal family systems, or parts work. I love helping people access non-ordinary states of consciousness so they can gain deeper insight and awareness in order to heal internal wounds primarily through a powerful technique called the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM), intertwining Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and other modalities of creative arts therapies when helpful. I am a lifelong learner always interested in growing and widening my thinking.
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Most people that know me would probably say that I am an outside-of-the-box person. I’m not into conforming to the expectations of societal norms. I see so much indoctrination and the harm that ensues. I am in favor of each of us working with what we have, finding empowerment within, and exploring the balance between accepting and creating change. While I honor and respect the information, support, community, and relief that diagnoses can provide, I also recognize that labels of any kind can have a shadow side. I've been labeled as ADHD, Gifted, Anxious, and Depressed, at various times throughout my life. While I'm aware that I have these parts, I have found ways to have healthy relationships with each of them. I have been impacted by significant loss, some of which was traumatic. And, recently, I lived through a rare and scary medical diagnosis for a year and a half, so have the unique experience of bouncing from extremely healthy, to medically fragile, back to extremely healthy. I know what it’s like to be a workaholic, and I know what it’s like to be a recovering workaholic. I am familiar with the age-old archetypal pattern of traveling into my darkness in order to find my light. I believe this is a lifelong, and spiraled, process. I was extremely lucky to have been raised by a father who, as a physician, started to question the field of psychiatry back in the 80s and a mother who remains the strongest, most badass, loving, teacher-of-all-things-human, that I know of, even years after her death. My family system and my lived experiences, some of which I just shared, both profoundly shape my practice as a therapist.
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Along with my work, I love traveling, playing music, hot yoga, exercising, being in nature, spending time with family and friends, and cooking. If I wasn't a therapist, I would be a chef. Before settling in Asheville in 2011, I lived and worked in Montreal, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Providence, and Durham. I have a deep passion for building community support and wellness. In additional to my private practice, I am a consultant with Teleios Collaborative Network, for which I provide leadership and professional development support to hospice/serious illness organizations.
