Biographical Info:

As a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist since 1991, I have had the privilege to come alongside my clients in their life challenges and help them grow, heal and move forward in healthier ways. In becoming who we are today, we all have faced difficulties and obstacles because life is hard! Many of us discover in time that we have carried wounds from our past that have caused us to develop unhealthy ways of coping with our pain. These can show up in symptoms like depression, anger, anxiety disorders, addictions, and other compulsive behaviors. The good news is that we can learn to reduce and overcome these symptoms through proven successful approaches based in the latest advances in neuroscience and human development (attachment theory). I enjoy working with both individuals and couples, and love focusing on relationships (from dating through empty nesters and beyond). For couples with marital issues and those thinking about getting married, I am a certified instructor for PREPARE/ENRICH, which is a program used for premarital counseling, marriage counseling and marriage enrichment. The program includes a comprehensive online couple assessment along with feedback using skills-building exercises. I am also trained in the evidence-based Gottman method for marital counseling and improving relationship and communication skills which has been very successful for thousands of couples. My areas of specialty are trauma recovery and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), including events involving death, assault, deployment, and accidents. I am trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and have completed training approved by the EMDR International Association. EMDR is a very effective method for healing traumas of any kind and is also used with correcting negative beliefs (lies) about ourselves that have hindered us from living fulfilled lives. It is wonderful to see concrete results and relief for many of my clients almost immediately. For more information, I encourage you to visit the EMDRIA website at http://www.emdria.org and http://www.emdrinaction.com. My counseling style is real, interactive, strong and grace-giving, sharing who I am with clients appropriately. I use an integrative approach, bringing both my clinical training and seminary training into my therapy, though anyone not seeking this approach will receive my utmost respect and sensitivity to their world view. In addition to my practice, I serve as the Clinical Supervisor at Community Counseling Associates, Former Adjunct Faculty at Western Seminary, and on the Board of Directors for Mission of Grace Foundation. Professional Experience Licensed Psychotherapist in full time private practice since 1992 Supervisor of MFT interns & trainees since 1993 Adjunct Faculty, Western Seminary, 2009 – 2014 Seminar & Workshop Leader with special interest in Developmental and Recovery Issues, Visioning and Defining Your Mission, Practical Faith Specialty Areas Relationship Building, Couples Counseling Recovery & Trauma Issues Stress Reduction Counseling from a Christian World View Training CRM Basic Training EMDR Critical Incident Stress Debriefing

Specialties:

Anxiety, Depression, Grief, Parenting, PTSD, Relationships, Stress, Trauma

I have a passion to assist individuals in being able to free up the stuck places that get inset with traumatic events, childhood physical and sexual abuse, abandonment and neglect and negative patterns. You learned to cope the best you could to get through what you experienced when maybe your voice wasn’t heard, when your boundaries were crossed, when you weren’t allowed feelings and there was no place to go. As time goes on, the ways you learned to cope to get through actually stop you from being able to feel, to connect with important people in your life and leave you feeling disconnected even from yourself. Being able to shift the negative beliefs that get attached to trauma to see oneself in a positive light is truly a new way of living. I desire to assist you in making the changes that can bring more satisfaction in your life.