My interest in working with young children comes from an innate sense of understanding I’ve felt my whole life. Sometimes words are hard to come by, and we have to find another way to convey what we’re feeling inside. I admire a child’s ability to show us their truth through action and play. Play is our first language, and I have seen when words fail- play prevails. My passion is in helping children find healthy ways to express their feelings through play, while helping parents navigate whatever the child is moving through in the moment. I firmly believe that the child-caregiver bond creates the template for future relationships in a child’s life, and I am deeply committed to strengthening that connection through authentic and compassionate care.
I utilize Synergetic Play Therapy and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, TraumaPlay, CBT, and Systems theory to inform my approach. I believe in the resilience of children and families and focus on a strengths-based, child-centered practice. I also strive to learn how the systems surrounding a child and family influence their interaction with each other. My ideals align with Narrative and Attachment therapy in that we can change our story through it’s telling while acknowledging that our history created the baseline. How we honor and reconstruct that baseline is in the therapeutic work. I mainly focus on the connection between caregiver and child, with an aim to create lasting improvement in behavior and socio-emotional skills, while providing parent education and peace of mind as a staple of a cohesive relationship between the family unit.
I graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a degree in International Politics and went on to earn my Master of Social Work at the University of Denver. I focused on Clinical Social Work at DU and I was a member of the Phi Alpha Honor Society. The foundation of my practice began while interning as a mentor with Fostering Healthy Futures, an evidenced-based program focused on skills training and socio-emotional development for kids in out-of-home care. I also participated in CLIMB DU, an Integrated Behavioral Health training program concentrating on breaking down barriers to health access in rural communities. I have worked with children in private practice and spent the last two years working as a child therapist at the Department of Human Services with bio and adoptive families. My experience with DHS has given me valuable insight into how systems can impact a family, and how therapy can empower families to overcome barriers created by those systems.
