After several decades of life experience, I earned an undergraduate degree in my late 30's and went to grad school to become a therapist in my early 40's. I believe my desire to pursue a career in counseling was to be of service to others and help them to better understand themselves as the complex human beings that we all are. I have a real passion for helping others to feel good about themselves, to find a sense of self worth and practice self compassion without judgment. I have goals in the future to increase my skills in trauma processing with Somatic Therapy techniques and continue deepening my knowledge of neurobiology, compassion-focused therapy techniques and helping clients to improve their emotional regulation skills.
I identify as a Relational Psychodynamic therapist; which means I place an emphasize on the role of the therapeutic relationship to help the client to understand themself and to practice healthy ways of relating to other's. I take an integrative approach to counseling with clients utilizing the theoretical approaches of Relational Therapy, Attachment Theory and Interpersonal Neurobiology with techniques from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Internal Family Systems and Emotion Focused Therapy.
I am an LPC licensed in the State of Oregon and a LMHC licensed in WA state. I received a BS degree in Social Sciences from U of O and a MS degree in Clinician Mental Health Counseling from Oregon State University. I have had multiple trainings in CBT, DBT and ACT therapy techniques. I have a certification in Interpersonal Neurobiology from Portland Community College.
