About
You are not alone.
You learned to believe you must figure it out on your own, move through it alone. “It” being anything and everything in your personal and professional lives you are currently experiencing.
Yikes! That sounds hard – and impossible! The problem with “going it alone” is it becomes so habitual that all other options fade away or completely disappear from the realm of possibility.
“I’ll do it myself. No one can help me.” “I’m fine.”
Therapy helps you get in touch with what else is possible beyond fear, worry, challenges, and uncertainty.
Relationships heal. Therapy is a collaboration.
Beginning therapy is scary at first, especially if it’s your first experience. Therapy also is exceptionally liberating. It’s my job to create a safe place for you to express and explore.
Your growth and healing occur within the context of a safe environment and the therapeutic relationship. Establishing a healthy, open, and honest relationship with your therapist (me!) is essential. I will invite you to show up in whatever way you can. There’s no “right” way of being in this space. Your thoughts, feelings, honest reactions, and silence are all welcome.
I will show up without judgment, not attached to any specific outcome for you. I will listen with genuine interest as I get to know you and what is important to you.
We’ll talk about what you want to gain from our work together. I will let you know how best to reach your goal as I reflect, support, and guide you. Sometimes, I will challenge you and any habitual beliefs or patterns that are limiting your life experience.
All of you is welcome here.
You hid those parts of yourself because they weren’t acknowledged, welcomed, or celebrated. You may or may not be aware of those parts of you that want to say “yes” but never do, or “no” but don’t dare, or “what about me” but have given up.
You receded into the shadows or moved through the world like a bull – not showing anyone the “real you” that lives inside. In hiding from others, you hide from yourself. You learn to armor and shield yourself. You become exhausted and lonely.
Therapy is a place to tell your story – to lift the veil of secrecy between you and the world. Revealing those hidden things often brings immediate relief.
Asking for help is not a sign of weakness.
The opposite is true. I know it’s become cliché to say that your vulnerability is your greatest strength.
And it’s true. Acknowledging that you need help and being willing to reach out for help takes tremendous courage. It is especially challenging for helpers to ask for help.
After years of being the one upon whom everyone relies, the helper can lose sight of their own needs, falsely believing helping others somehow fulfills their own needs. Having that belief works enough of the time – until it doesn’t.
One moment of unconditional positive regard can call into question a lifetime of feelings of unworthiness.
– Rachel Naomi Remen
About Me
I love to learn. As a twin, I learned early about the values of connection and compromise. (Think “womb”.) Being raised in small towns in the Midwest, I learned the importance of community and friendship.
When I was 29, I learned I could survive without my husband, who abruptly left our marriage. I discovered that “falling apart” opened up a new world of possibilities within myself and my world. I became a therapist to help others learn to be less afraid of their own emotions and inner impulses.
After moving to California in the mid-1990s, I landed at an educational retreat center in Big Sur, where I lived and worked for five years. Through experiences with many teachers and workshop leaders, I learned to put psychological principles into practice.
I became fascinated with the connections between mind, body, and emotion through experiential learning. Because I wanted to provide the best possible service for my clients and students, integrating somatic and mindfulness practices into clinical work, I returned to graduate school to become a licensed therapist in California.
Grateful to be a 10-minute walk from the beach and a 10-minute drive to a redwood forest. I draw strength and inspiration from the beauty that surrounds me.
My newest mantra is “music infuses my life” because my life is much richer when I am engaged in and with it.
The learning continues and always will. (Yippee!) I continue to be humbled and inspired, daunted at times, yet often filled with joy on the roller coaster of my life.