About

Your child is more precious to you than anything.

Parenting is possibly the most important and demanding job you can have. It is relentless, with 24-hour shifts, seven days a week.

Sure, the kids go off to daycare, school, or other activities. But the responsibility is always there.

If something goes wrong or someone else is worried about them, you are the one that gets a call.

All this is tougher because you care so much.

This is a lot to carry when your child is struggling.

Other people may have offered their opinions (invited or not) about what would help. You and your spouse or co-parent probably have some different ideas about the best way forward.

Even in the best of circumstances, it’s lonely and confusing.

You’re the one in the best position to seek positive change for your child.

This is not just another of so many decisions you make each day. The stakes are high.

And you would not trade this relentless job for anything.

With it comes the closeness of shared experiences, the joy of mutual victories, and the feeling of being a family.

I’m a parent, too – I get it.

I have deep respect for families and the potential for growth and change in children, teens, and parents.

As the mom of four kids, I know what it’s like to experience struggles and search for the best way to help.

Therapy with me . . .

Therapy with me can look a lot of different ways.

I meet with whole families, parent-child pairs, teens alone, or children alone.

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 family and your needs and finding a way to make things better.

I walk with families from here to whole again.

About Me

My journey to the work I love . . .

I love understanding families 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 families 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. Now I focus on children, teens, and families because that’s where the most important changes happen.

Wholeness in our families changes all of us.

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.