About Me
Background & Training
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I am a licensed psychologist in the state of Washington (PY60416260), and I have a private practice located in Seattle. I feel honored to be a psychotherapist and sit with clients as we explore their life experiences and needs. I am deeply informed by my curiosity and awe about what it means to be alive and to be engaged as a member of the living earth. Current areas of exploration in my life are centered on learning how to engage in reciprocal relationship with the land and more than human world, building community and connecting with sources of resiliency, and learning from the seasonal shifts in our bodies and and local places.
I greatly enjoy and am committed to ongoing learning as practitioner. Below is a list of advanced training experiences and significant conferences that I have completed or attended:
Education I attended Pacific University School of Professional Psychology in Oregon, where I received both my Master’s and Doctorate degrees in clinical psychology. I completed my predoctoral internship at the University of Washington Counseling Center. My research throughout graduate school included examining the mental health benefits of a deeper connection to nature; and exploring the resiliencies that environmental activists hold and the unique social and psychological challenges that they face in their work. I have experience working with a wide range of emotional and interpersonal issues. The focus of my training has been on providing outpatient psychotherapy to individuals and couples, as well as working specifically with college student populations. I have also run therapy groups for adults and adolescents in various settings, and I enjoy creating group and community-based experiences to support people in enhancing connections with others while working towards healing. |
Therapy Approach and Influences
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My therapeutic approach is holistic and relationship-oriented. The foundation of my work comes from Gestalt therapy, which is a client-centered approach that views all individuals as inherently oriented toward growth and having a capacity for healing. I have training in and experience with various treatments that are empirically supported, including mindfulness-based therapies, ecotherapy/nature-based approaches, emotion-focused therapies, and body-based/somatic approaches — all of which are incorporated into my work with clients. Ultimately, I support clients in increasing self-awareness, self-understanding, and self-compassion. With greater awareness and compassion, I find that individuals are then empowered to make changes in their lives that are in line with their values and needs. Learning to approach ourselves and our inner experiences with curiosity and care, is often a great strength in moving through life's inherent challenges.
I have had the chance to learn from and with many amazing teachers, mentors, and guides. Some significant teachers that influence my life and therapy work include Jon Frew, Steve Zahm and Eva Gold, Joanna Macy, Resmaa Menakem, adrienne maree brown, Tara Brach, Sage Hayes and other Somatic Experiencing practitioners, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Leticia Nieto, Prentis Hemphill, Kathy Kain, Ryan Van Lenning, Laurence Cole and Thérèse Charvet. |
Land Acknowledgement
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My psychotherapy practice is located on the unceded lands of the Duwamish and Coast Salish people. One of the ways I honor my position as a settler on this land, is through regular donations to Real Rent Duwamish, and learning about and supporting local initiatives led by the Duwamish and other Coast Salish peoples.
You can make a donation to support the return of land and resources to the Duwamish people here: https://www.realrentduwamish.org/. |