I’m a therapist, clinical supervisor, trainer, and parent, and I’ve spent most of my career working with kids, teens, young adults, and families. Over the years, I’ve worked with young people in schools, homes, parks, community programs, and therapy offices- and one thing I’ve learned is that there is no single “right” way to connect with a kid (or a parent).

I especially love working with tweens and teens because these years are such a complicated in-between. They’re figuring out who they are, pulling away from their parents while still needing them, navigating friendships and relationships, and trying to make sense of a world that asks a lot of them. Some kids walk into therapy eager to talk. Others would very much prefer that everyone stop asking them how they feel. I’m comfortable with both.

My style is warm, curious, direct, and pretty informal. There’s no stiff “therapy vibe” in my office. Just real, honest, and sometimes silly conversations. I don’t expect young people to communicate like adults or parents to have all the answers. I want the people I work with to feel seen, respected, and able to show up as themselves.

Being a parent has also deeply influenced the way I work. I know what it’s like to Google all the things, read the books, listen to the podcasts, and still wonder, Am I doing this right? Am I missing something? Am I making it worse without realizing it? Parenting gets more complicated as kids get older, especially when the advice they once welcomed becomes the last thing they want to hear.

That’s why working with parents is an important part of my practice, too. I offer individual therapy for parents, parent coaching, and what I call parenting-focused couples therapy-helping parents work through the differences, stress, and challenges of raising kids that can start affecting their relationship with each other. How parents communicate, manage conflict, and understand one another inevitably influences how they parent together, so sometimes supporting the kids means supporting the relationship between the adults raising them.

I also work with young adults as they figure out who they are outside of childhood roles and expectations. Greater independence can bring freedom, but it can also bring anxiety, self-doubt, changing family relationships, and the uncomfortable realization that adulthood doesn't come with nearly as many instructions as we were led to believe.

A big part of how I understand mental health is looking beyond the individual. Pressure, perfectionism, family dynamics, world stressors, and cultural messages- including diet culture and body-related expectations- can quietly shape how we see ourselves, our worth, and the world around us. I’m interested not only in what someone is struggling with, but also in understanding the context in which that struggle developed.

That perspective comes from years of clinical work as well as years spent supervising and supporting other therapists, and it now shapes the continuing education trainings I provide to mental health professionals. I love helping clinicians think more deeply about the cultural and developmental context their clients are living in- and the things that can show up in the therapy room whether we’re actively looking for them or not.

At the end of the day, I’m not here to tell you how to parent, tell a teenager who they should be, or hand a young adult a blueprint for their life. I’m here to get curious with you, help make sense of what isn’t working, and figure out what might work better, so life feels a little more manageable and the relationships that matter feel a little more connected.

A bit about my background

• Master’s in Counseling Psychology, John F. Kennedy University
• Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) since 2015
• Certified ADHD Clinical Services Provider
• Certified Mindfulness-Informed Professional
• CAMFT-approved continuing education provider offering trainings for mental health professionals on diet culture, disordered eating, and other topics impacting clinical practice. 

Want to know more? Let’s talk.