My journey to become a therapist truly began as a child (third grade, to be exact). I wanted to be a friend who listened well and made others feel heard. I instinctively understood how powerful and important it was to feel connected to others through their story, even if I didn’t yet have the words to describe it that way. Now, as a professional listener (what I often call myself), I continue to seek out people whose stories feel tangled or hard to share. I work with them to help find a place of understanding and self-compassion for the messy, imperfect, complicated humans we all are. As someone who works with everyone from tweens to adults, I’ve found that age is not a determinant of how tangled our stories feel.

As a messy, imperfect human myself, I know the struggle that comes with carrying a tangle of feelings and thoughts while also navigating the challenges of daily tasks, managing moments of panic, or enduring days of deep sadness. I’ve been there many times and understand intimately the strength and support it takes to find healing. Using the lessons I’ve learned along my own emotional journey and my years of clinical training as a therapist, I have worked diligently to create a space for my clients to share their own stories from a place of compassion and empathy—without fear of judgment or shame.

Outside of my role as a therapist, I love to tend to my community garden plot (ask me about my carrots!), read both well-written and poorly written (but hilarious) books, do jigsaw puzzles, watch a million hours of YouTube, play Beat Saber on my VR headset, and try to get enough sleep. This is a photo of me from my sister’s wedding because I like it more than professional headshots, and it was a lot of fun getting to officiate it. No, you won’t see me dressing this fancy!