I work with children and adults across the lifespan (age 4 and older) and provide individual, parent, and family therapy. I also provide individual and weekly group therapy services to people who are currently incarcerated. I am passionate about advocating for and serving LGBTQ+ clients and their loved ones, especially those in the transgender community.

Before becoming a therapist, I worked as an engineer and I was a stay at home mom for 9 years. I had a transformative experience with therapy after I had some struggles with the birth of my third child. This experience inspired me to go back to school in my forties so I could become a therapist for others. Now this is one of my favorite things to do - to help people make meaning of their suffering. I am honored and grateful to be doing this "work" - because it doesn't feel like work to me - and to provide a safe, judgment-free, compassionate space for people during difficult times.

I have helped people with issues relating to anxiety, depression, divorce, family relationships, partner relationships, children, parenting, grief and loss, career changes, trauma, LGBTQ+ and especially transgender issues, such as gender dysphoria and gender-affirming hormone therapy.

I have prior work experience in the Des Moines Public School district and with Orchard Place. I've been trained in Trauma Focused CBT (TF-CBT), Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), Motivational Interviewing, and have completed various courses related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. I am especially interested in the use of mindfulness, compassion, self-compassion, and self-care. I have taken an 8-week Compassion Cultivation Training course and I completed a 10-week mindfulness and compassion educator course. I recently completed my fourth Jungian/depth psychology course.

If you are considering therapy, but worry that your problems "aren't quite big enough," I would encourage you to give it a try. Please don't wait until things become too big, you are worth your own time and care. I encourage open communication and feedback and view therapy as a collaborative process. This empowers clients and helps us work together to personalize the therapy experience so that it can be as supportive as possible.