(Brief Bio)
After being introduced to therapy as an adolescent, I went on to study psychology and have been working in the field providing direct services to adolescents, young adults, and adults since the late 1990s, in a variety of cities and clinical settings across the United States.
First licensed as an MFT in California in 2008, I began a small private practice and spent the next decade providing sexual violence prevention education and rape crisis services with the University of California Los Angeles -Santa Monica Medical Center’s renowned Rape Treatment Center. I relocated in 2018, sought additional training and certification, focused more on art making, and immersed in the research and study of the female experience of ADHD and Autism and feminist theory. I continue to maintain an online private practice and offer clinical consultation, coaching services, and women’s groups.
I truly enjoy sharing information and connecting other women to the strategies and resources that have been most helpful in my own personal work. For me, learning how to understand, interpret, and “befriend” my autonomic nervous system (using polyvagal theory) remains one of the more paradigm-shifting/”therapeutic” experiences of my life to date. I view the nervous system as an “embodied wisdom source” and nature as a profound teacher and co-regulating resource.
Diagnosed with ADHD and Autism in my mid-40’s after being misdiagnosed (and treated) for a variety of other (chronic) conditions, I began connecting the dots between my own personal experiences and the clinical literature, and reached out to my colleague, Candice Christiansen, LMHC, CSAT-S, for more information about the intersections of ADHD, Autism, complex Post Traumatic Stress, and sexual addiction/betrayal recovery. Together, we have co-presented on these topics for the International Institute of Trauma and Addiction Professionals, and she hosted me for several deep and lively conversations about our personal and clinical experiences with adult diagnosis on her podcast.
We created a Neuro-Affirming Autism Screening Tool focused on recognizing and assessing for more “nuanced” (female) presentations of autism for the 2023 IITAP Symposium. This is available for download here: Resources, on Candice’s website, and/or in the chapter “Embodying IFS with Neurodivergent Clients: A Neuro-Inclusive Approach for Therapists,” authored by Candice Christiansen and Meg Martinez-Dettamanti and generously included as an addendum for Jenna Riemersma’s book, Altogether Us, (publ. 2023)
In my free time, you’ll often find me engaged in feminist organizing work, playing with collage and mixed media abstract painting, exploring the woods with my dog, taking pictures of mushrooms, building moss gardens, listening to books written by women aross genre and time, or possibly dreaming/napping.
I will begin offering in-person therapy and art and nature-based intensives, retreats, and workshops for women Winter, 2025.
Education/Training/Certifications:
Academics: BA in Psychology (2001); MA in Counseling Psychology (2004)
Licensure: Marriage and Family Therapist, California, #45462 (2008); Marriage and Family Therapist, Oregon, #T2025 (2021)
Certifications: Certified Sexual Assault Victim Counselor, California, (2009); Completed 6 month training “Foundations of Polyvagal Theory in Clinical Practice,” with Deb Dana (2020-2021); Post-Induction Therapist, Meadows Behavioral Health (2021); Certified Sex Addiction Therapist, International Institute of Trauma and Addiction Professionals (2022); Completed Basic Training in Attachment Focused EMDR with Laurel Parnell, Parnell Institute (2022 – pursuing certification)
Recent Body/Mind/Arts Trainings: iRest Yoga Nidra Teacher Training, Level One with Richard Miller (2017). Trauma-Informed Yoga with Hala Khouri and Kyra Heglund (2017); Trauma-Informed Creative Expressive Arts Training, Level 1 and 2 with Cathy Malchiodi, Trauma-Informed Expressive Arts Institute (2018-2019). Healing Trauma with Guided Drawing with Cornelia Elbrecht, Institute for Sensorimotor Art Therapy (2020)