About

We all need connection.

Feeling alone with the struggles of life makes everything harder.

Sometimes our homes seem filled with too many needs and not enough resources.

If we (or our kids) experience intense emotions, it can get overwhelming.

And if any of us are good at sensing how others feel, the effects become exponential.

This is a lot to carry, especially when we need to take care of both ourselves and others.

It’s hard to know where to turn.

You want to make things better.

Maybe you thought it would be better by now. Some of the difficulties are in the past, and yet still with you.

You can’t just shake off some of what you’ve been through.

You want to make the most of what you have, for you and those you care about.

I get it.

I have deep respect for people and the potential for growth and change in both children and adults.

I know what it’s like to experience struggles and search for what will help.

Therapy with me . . .

Therapy with me can look a lot of different ways.

I meet with adults, kids, teens, parent-child pairs, and sometimes whole families.

I use words, art, play, humor, and more. Some of the official names of what I do are cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), experiential therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), family therapy, and attachment-based therapy.

But all of it has to do with me getting to know your needs and finding a way to make things better.

I walk with you from here to whole again.

About Me

My journey to the work I love . . .

I love understanding people so much, that I thought I might have a career as a researcher.

I spent my doctoral training at the University of Minnesota on a long-term project that followed a group of children from before birth to adulthood.

While I really enjoyed seeing these kids grow up and exploring where some problems start, I found that I loved helping individual kids and adults make changes even more.

Since then, I’ve worked in community mental health and served as a clinical supervisor in a primary care mental health clinic.

My experience has included therapy with all ages and lots of different reasons for seeking help.

Helping others find wholeness is my life’s work.

My life when I’m not doing therapy . . .

I try to find a few hours each week to spend with clay. I make functional ceramics (plates, bowls, vases, etc). My mind is clearest when the rest of me is spattered in mud!

I find physical exercise essential to my own mental health. I run (slowly) and work out (awkwardly) and my stress level still goes down.

My own family is still the center of my life. After all, wholeness in our families changes all of us.