Caring Mental Health Support
Online and In-Person
I often tell clients we each have a giant garbage can inside our chest. It's where we shove the things we can't talk about, the things we aren't ready to deal with, and even things we don't remember anymore. The can fills up. You start overthinking. You stop sleeping. You're cranky for reasons that don't quite match the situation.
Sometimes, saying some of those things out loud to someone who has no personal stake in your life takes the weight off. Normalizing what you're feeling is more empowering than people expect. I believe everyone deserves someone to talk to, and I bring both professional training and a range of life experience to walking beside you in that work.
My Background
I've been a social worker since 1995 and have practiced as a therapist since 2011. Over nearly three decades in the field, I've worked across some of the most demanding settings social work has to offer — child welfare in Jackson County, forensic interviewing at the Child Protection Center, the ER and pediatric ICU at Children's Mercy, and as a school social worker for elementary through high school students. I've worked with children, adults, seniors, and couples.
What that means for you, practically: I've sat with a lot of people in a lot of different kinds of hard. You don't have to worry about overwhelming me or saying the thing wrong. I bring the kind of steadiness that comes from doing this work for a long time, in places where steadiness mattered.
In my private practice, I focus on adults — particularly people working through anxiety, depression, and the patterns that show up in close relationships.
My approach
Every person is different, and you already have more of the tools than you think. My job is to help you use those tools differently so you can get different results.
I draw on several therapeutic modalities and most often work from:
Strengths-based therapy — building from what's already working, not just troubleshooting what isn't
Trauma-informed therapy — recognizing how past experiences shape present-day reactions, and working with your nervous system instead of against it
Client-centered therapy — you set the pace and the priorities; I bring the framework, the questions, and an outside perspective
What the first session looks like
You'll share your story — what brought you in, what's been hard, and what you actually want out of being here. From there, we'll map the steps to get you there together. I work to make the room (or the screen, for telehealth) feel safe enough that you can talk honestly about what's working in your life and what isn't, without having to perform or have it all figured out first.
Ready to Start Feeling Better?
Fill out our quick form and let’s find the right support plan together.