In my former career, I was a graphic designer, both corporate and freelance. For years I helped major organizations create branding identities and marketing communications. I entered into the design profession to support myself as an artist and, ironically, I ended up having little room for creativity outside work. Now that I’m a therapist, I’m back to creating art and crafting for fun. Yay!
For many years, I wanted to study psychology and thought maybe I’d get a PhD in Jungian Mythological Studies. My own therapy included a lot of dream and body work, so I knew that self-exploration of the psyche was beneficial. When I told friends and family I wanted to go to grad school to study psychology, everyone said, “You’d be a great therapist!” “I didn’t say I was going to be a therapist!” I would reply. Well… the idea started to stick and I’m so glad it did. I completed a masters in psychology in 2012. The 3,000 practicum and intern hours set me on a course to learn about trauma, addiction, attachment, relationships, empathy, self-care and so much more. I was an intern at Santa Cruz County Mental Health Services at the County Jail, at Encompass Community Services at the ReTurn Project serving men and women exiting incarceration, at Encompass Youth Services, and in private practice. I passed my licensing exams in 2015.
I have advanced training in EMDR, couples therapy, and psychoneurobiology. I work with doctors to assist with medication management. I am fascinated by psychedelic assisted therapies and offer Ketamine Assisted Therapy. Non-dual thinking weaves into all my work with people in the form of mindfulness: present-centered, non-judgmental, moment-to-moment awareness. Above all, I look to create a safe relationship for my clients in which I can help them to explore their lives, to shift and align with their authentic selves, and to ease their suffering.
I’m married to a great guy and have experienced the ups and downs of keeping my own relationship richly connected while raising two kids, now young adults, while running my own businesses, while being active in our community and while somehow finding time to make art, travel and spend time in our beautiful redwoods and on our beaches.
Because of the pandemic, I’ve toggled between in-person office visits and Zoom sessions. I’m open to meeting in person or on Zoom. My office is in a convenient location with plenty of parking and privacy. I don’t always have openings, but appointments do open up, so please contact me.
Education
- M.A. in Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies, 2012
- B.A. in Art History from the University of California Santa Cruz, 1985
Additional Training
- Alan Schore study group, Berkeley, CA, 2011-2013
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction practicum & intensive, 2013, 2014
- Motivational Interviewing training and study group, Encompass Community Services, 2013
- Insight Santa Cruz Teacher Development Training and Mentoring, 2013–2014
- EMDR Training, Levels 1 & 2, 2014
- ASAM (American Society of Addiction Medicine) patient placement criteria training, 2014
- Psychopharmacology with John Preston PhD, 2013, 2014
- EMDR DeTUR protocol for addictions, 2016
- EMDR R-TEP & G-TEP for recent trauma for individuals and groups, 2017
- Couples Institute year long training, 2019-2020
- Journey Clinical ketamine training (by Fluence), 2022
- Understanding and Treating Disorganized Attachment and Dissociation: Exploring Dissociative Identity Disorder(DID) through the Lens of Interpersonal Neurobiology, 2022
- Analytic Explorations Explorations of Psychedelic Therapy, Fluence Training with Lawrence Fischman, MD and Jeffrey Guss, MD, 2023
Memberships and Affiliations
- California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, Santa Cruz Chapter, full member
- EMDRIA (EMDR International Association) full member
- International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation, full member
- Journey Clinical, Inc., member psychotherapist