BIOGRAPHY

I was born in the Bay Area of California and grew up in Portland, Oregon. I studied music and theatre in college and then went on to be a professional musical theatre performer and voice teacher post undergrad.

My interest in psychology started when I began seeing a therapist of my own to process childhood trauma, anxiety, and chronic pelvic pain. I saw the difference one person could make in someone’s life and I wondered if I could do the same for others.

I ground my work in creating an empathetic and unbiased space. I believe this to be essential in order to create new and healthy habits, as well as process and work through difficulties. I strive to create a collaborative environment that welcomes feedback so I can help people get the most out of their sessions.

EDUCATION & THEORETICAL APPROACH

I am a person-centered psychotherapist. I received my undergraduate degree, Bachelor of Music, from the University of Puget Sound and I have an M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Adams State University.

I do not believe in one-size-fits-all when it comes to therapy. I combine CBT, SFBT, and Narrative theories with mindfulness and somatic work when appropriate.

MY ENDO STORY

Since I was 12 years old, I have been in some form of chronic pain and fatigue. At age 17 I started experiencing debilitating menstrual cycles. It took over 10 years of self advocacy, research, learning from Nancy’s Nook, and enduring medical gaslighting in order to convince doctors that my pain was not “normal period pain”. At age 30 I advocated for an MRI with contrast that showed I had deep infiltrating endometriosis and endometriomas (blood filled cysts) on my ovaries. I sought out an expert excision from a Nook surgeon and had a success surgery in 2022.

Unfortunately, some of my pain and endometriosis has returned in the last year. We are in the thick of our infertility journey, having tried to conceive on our own for over a year. We have completed several failed rounds of IUIs and we now moving towards IVF and repeat excision surgery before the end of 2023. 

I aim to be transparent with my clients through my endometriosis and infertility journey if they wish to learn more or hope to learn from my experience. Everyone’s infertility and chronic illness is different and what has worked for me may not work for you, but my hope is that through being open with each other, you may find comfort and community.

May 2022, excision surgery at UCSF