Create the life and relationships you want
Do you want to have a healthier relationship with yourself and other people? When faced with challenges we tend to keep doing what's familiar. We hope we'll feel better or get the response we want, yet when nothing changes we're stuck. I'll guide and support you as you identify and share how you feel and what you need in ways that are true and helpful. Once you understand why you're struggling now, and practice how to move to a more content place, life will feel calmer. Imagine handling feelings like depression, anger, overwhelm and anxiety as useful information about your needs -- and having adaptive ways to take care of yourself, instead of feeling at a loss. I'll make sure the process of therapy is tempered with occasional humor and joy as you do work that can be both painful and rewarding.
I work with a variety of concerns. In individual therapy you learn to understand and work through what gets in the way of living a fulfilling life. You may want to improve your communication and manage conflict, or process grief or past hurts to move forward with a sense of resolution and hope. You may struggle to identify what's true or right for you and need support to get comfortable and grounded in what makes you unique. You may lean on substances or harmful behaviors to manage feelings and are ready to find a different way to take care of yourself. In couples therapy you can change interactions so you and your partner feel understood and work together effectively. Maybe your goal is to increase the emotional and sexual intimacy in your relationship so you feel a balance between loving the warmth of closeness and enjoying independence as well.
The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering.
- Ben Okri
License, Certifications
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
AASECT Certified Sex Therapist
Certified Prepare/Enrich Counselor
Education
M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy, St. Mary's University of Minnesota
M.A. in Teaching, Mount Holyoke College
B.A. in English, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
I love gardening, cycling, cooking, hiking, boating and being outdoors. I'm married and have three adult children.
I grew up on the east coast, lived in Portland and Seattle for a few years and have been in Minnesota for over thirty years. I live part time in Arizona and appreciate life in two very different, naturally beautiful places.