My work as a healer is based on my experience as a therapist in addition to my own healing path over the past 30 years.  Since completing a Master's Degree in Expressive Therapy at the University of Louisville (2000) and subsequent certification in yoga instruction (2001), I have practiced art therapy and yoga therapy in psychiatric and community settings with adolescents, adults, and elders.  I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) and a board certified, registered Art Therapist (ATR-BC).  Areas of specialization include adolescence and young adulthood, trauma work, somatic issues, women's health, sexuality, and clinical supervision.  I love working with clients from divergent backgrounds. 

 

In addition to private practice, fifteen years of experience at in-patient psychiatric settings (Navos Inpatiet Services in Seattle and Central State Hosptial in Louisville, KY) have offered a rich foundation in working with people impacted by various forms of trauma.  Trauma-related training includes Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and certification in trauma-sensitive yoga instruction from the Trauma Center in Boston, MA. 

 

In 2014, I completed a sixteen month professional seminar program in Jungian Studies sponsored by the C.G. Jung Institute of Seattle and am currently a member of the Jungian Psychotherapists Association of Seattle (JPA), Center for Object Relations (COR), and the NW Alliance for Psychoanalytic Study (NWAPS).  I have participated in NWAPS' Clinic Without Walls and work actively in clinical consultation with Sal Ziz, DCSW, LICSW, whose mentorship is steeped in interpersonal neurobiology.  Currently, I am learning more about how race and culture impact identity, trauma, and healing work.  

 

Both yoga and the creative process have provided space for centering and a means for continual growth and renewal in my life.  I am influenced by philosophers, yoga teachers, and psychologists including Winnicot, Maslow, Naomi Patterson, Shannon McCall, Gail Malizia, Father Joe Periera, Judith Capili, Joseph Rutte, Karen Stocker, Carl Jung, Candace Braley, Susan Scott, and Bessel van der Kolk.  To these teachers and their inspirations, and to clients who have let me learn with them, I am immensely grateful.