I grew up in Illinois and graduated with my BS in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. I then received my MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During graduate school, I specialized in working with individuals with developmental and physical disabilities. Since graduating, I have devoted much of my time to working with people who have experienced both chronic and acute trauma. I have also worked extensively with the active-duty military and veteran population.

On a more personal note, I enjoy the arts: theatre, Broadway, music, art museums, etc. I value creativity and curiosity in all areas of my life, and enjoy surrounding myself with it. I also enjoy some light competition in the form of tabletop games, video games, recreational sports, etc. I have a strong belief that we are all social creatures and we each need some form of community where we feel we belong. This is a huge tool for us and a strong part of our resiliency and helps strengthen our mental health. I try my best to both lean on my community and to welcome my community to lean back.

I value warmth and playfulness. I enjoy digging deep with my clients, but without a comfortable environment to come out of that space and decompress, that deep work can be extremely heavy and exhausting. My approach attempts to balance the warm, gentle, and playful parts of a therapeutic relationship to encourage your mind to feel rewarded by doing the deep work, rather than only feeling tired. Therapy is hard work, but it’s also very rewarding. You should feel both throughout your journey.