Work Experience
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and Clinical Substance Abuse Counselor with 20 years of comprehensive counseling experience. For 13 of those years, I had the privilege of working as a Professional School Counselor and School Based Mental Health Therapist. With a school background, I have a unique perspective and expertise regarding child development, the school system and school based expectations.
I am skilled in working with adolescents and emerging adults as they seek to define their identities, cope with the rapid physical, emotional, and psychological changes that take place within themselves and adjust to the demands of peers, schools, families and society.
I also specialize in working with all aged individuals to assist in negotiating all of life's transitions and challenges to help improve relationships with others and the self. I use an insight-oriented perspective, balanced with empathy and skill building, to help find the reasons behind why we do what we do and how emotional and behavioral patterns impact us and our relationships.
I strive to keep up-to-date on the research about therapeutic approaches and techniques that have been most successful with the particular concerns you bring, and that fit well with the kind of person you are. We will go as fast as the speed of trust.
Primarily, I will strive to facilitate your own process of discovery and your ideas about solutions that will work for change. I will certainly provide you with information or alert you to potential dangers involved in certain choices as needed. But since my goal is to help you build skills that will make you independent of me, I will support your own exploration and solutions whenever possible.
Education and Training
- K-12 School Counseling, UW-Stout (MS)
- Addictions Counseling, UW-Whitewater
- Community Counseling, UW-Whitewater
- Licensed Professional Counselor of Wisconsin (LPC)
- Clinical Substance Abuse Counselor (CSAC)
- Training in DBT, ACT, CAMS, and TF-CBT modalities
- EMDR Trained accredited by EMDRIA
- ERP Trained accredited by International OCD Foundation
- Certificate in Somatic Embodiment & Regulations Strategies
On a more personal note...
I enjoy spending my non-working hours hiking, biking, laughing as much as possible, reading, exploring new local hangouts, concerts (I LOVE music!) and traveling. I feel most grounded when I am in nature, and can often be found exploring hiking trails and biking locally, nationally, and abroad. I am an explorer by nature and enjoy traveling. I am grateful to have visited many different states and countries and have a never ending list of places I would like to visit.