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Caring.Knowledgable.Funny.Innovative.Experienced.

Not your average bear

I remember standing in my dorm room junior year of college learning that my suitemate was a psychology major. To which I dismissively asked, "What do you do with that?" Turns out years later you eat crow, become a therapist yourself, & use your clinical expertise in your role as a parent coach. A therapist & parent coach who took zero psych courses in college? Read on.

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Didn't see this coming...

Three years after my psych degree comment, I found myself in a therapist's office for the first time saying, “I get angry when I’m drunk and don’t know why.” That was a few years after my parents' divorce, and it was just the start of my journey. 

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I found therapy so helpful when I wrapped up my time as a client, I decided I wanted to be “on the other side of the couch.” I thought if I could help couples work through their issues, it meant families would stay together

...or that

Fast forward through a year of volunteering on a domestic violence crisis hotline, another year of post-baccalaureate psych classes, and three years in grad school. That's when it happened.  

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My second year of grad school, a family of four walked into our counseling clinic. To my surprise, the parents were divorced. And they both wanted to help  their youngest child. I've always connected easily with kids but that experience plus a year-long externship working with kids & families sealed the deal.  

I'm not gonna say I'm a natural, but...
oh, what the heck, yes I am! I'm a freakin' natural when it comes to kids.

Child's play

Since 2011, I loved working with kids doing play therapy, social skills groups, as well as individual and sibling counseling. But kids spend way more time with their parents than with me. Leading parent-child interactive therapy (PCIT) helped me realize how much more impactful I could be by working with parents. Improving the parent-child relationship offered much bigger ROI for families.

 

However, I could only reach one family at a time with counseling. AND I could help infinitely more families with parent coaching. That's why I do both. 

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Not a mama bear

What I don’t do... is have small humans of my own. Not because I didn’t want to, but it just never happened for many reasons. Maybe that’s why I bring the passion I do to the families I serve.

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No two parents are the same and no two kids are either. As someone who doesn't have kids, I'm better able to think outside the box because there is no comparing "what I did in that situation" to your situation. I want to understand your experience of parenting so we can find changes that fit you. That's why we focus on your unique parenting journey... not mine.

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When I'm not coaching or therapizing

I spend time with God, friends, family and food. Experiencing different cultures through food and travel is quite possibly my favorite thing on earth. I also love Latin dancing, climbing mountains, and running. My inner Pisces can spend hours in the water -- playing or relaxing. I think laughter is the best medicine, and dogs are better than cats. Yeah, I said it. 

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