Consider this a virtual handshake
What you can expect when sitting across from me in therapy is a responsive confidante and compassionate listening ear. I approach my role knowing what a grand privilege it is to bear witness to the life stories of my clients, especially the parts of the story that are hardest to tell. It is proven that the power of psychotherapy lies within the “therapeutic relationship” or the connection between the client and therapist. With this knowledge, I utilize an open, collaborative, straight-forward, show-you-my-cards approach to foster our relationship, and I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t throw in a little humor here and there!
I see it as my professional obligation as a therapist to help each client I encounter, whether in a complimentary 15-minute consultation or after years of working together, to find the right fit in a therapist. If that is not me, that is okay! I want to know in order to collaborate with you to find the best fit, whether that is helping you identify what it is you are looking for or by connecting you directly to a clinician in my diverse network.
Finding a therapist can take time — reach out, and maybe we can expedite that process together!
Ready to get to work?
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My early clinical work was in an integrated primary healthcare setting that emphasized a collaborative approach between healthcare professionals to unify mental and physical health treatment.
I have since enjoyed integrating this spirit of collaboration in multiple private practice settings in the Chicagoland area over the last six years.
In my life beyond the proverbial therapist chair, you’ll find me reading anything contemporary fiction, with multiple sewing or embroidery projects in progress at once, or enjoying time with my loved ones.
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I use an integrative approach to therapy, leaning predominantly on tenants of Humanism, Structuralism, Functionalism & Attachment Theory. What does all of this mean?
I am going to treat you with the dignity every human deserves, knowing you already have all the resources necessary for growth stored inside of you
I will tease out the “structure” or pattern of thinking, feeling and behaving that you have learned to use in order to adapt throughout your life
I will be attentive to the ways in which each aspect of your life and identity interacts with the many environments you are embedded in
We will explore your early relationships to discover how you first learned to interact with the world
I use these same tenants in relational work, though in Couples Therapy I utilize the efficacious, manualized treatment protocol of Emotion-Focused Couples Therapy, while borrowing from the breadth of research on marriage and relationships done by Drs. John and Julie Gottman.
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Bachelor’s Degree in Family & Child Sciences with a minor in Psychology from the College of Human Sciences at Florida State University
Master’s of Family Therapy Degree from the School of Medicine at Mercer University
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist by the Illinois Department of Financial Regulation
License No.: 166.001518
Member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy