About Me

For as long as I can remember, I have always been someone that other people turn for a listening ear, support, and guidance. My direct, honest, and empathetic presence naturally guided me to study the field of psychology in college. I earned my Masters in Counseling with a Specialization in the Expressive Art Therapies because I wanted to focus on working with clients using a non-verbal means for working through issues that is not possible through talk therapy alone. I wanted to deepen my understanding of what motivates people to behave and think in certain ways, and I yearned to facilitate lasting change and growth for my clients and thus, earned a doctorate in Clinical Psychology (PsyD) at California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco.

After graduate school, I became licensed and opened a Guidance Center with a colleague where I was the Clinical Director. It still felt as though something was missing so I opened a private practice. All of these changes and transitions took place with the hopes of finally providing a sense of genuine career fulfillment. I found myself wondering if I was truly making a difference for others and for myself. I continued to notice that I would often think, “This can’t be all there is to life. This can’t be it. There must be something more.” I was tired and irritable. I had always struggled with the way in which psychologists view people and in how they practice. Pathologizing and focusing on diagnosis and treatment of a disorder in a person was not how I naturally approach life or people. I could not view people as fragile and in need of being fixed.

I believe that human beings are dynamic, innate creatures with unlimited potential to heal themselves through the use of a safe relationship as a vehicle to elicit change. I truly trust that experiences of the past do not shape or form our identity. Rather, it can be used as information to create positive life experiences in the present. Again, I started on the path of soul searching, determined to work with others in a way in which I felt aligned with my organic ideas of people. I wanted to work with people who are experiencing bumps in the road whether it be in relationships with others, career challenges or shifts, and /or self growth and transition, rather than focusing on diagnosing and treating disorders.

I started to ask myself questions that helped me realize that working as a Mental Health Wellness Coach where I can use whatever creative intervention can be conjured up in session, in conjunction with focusing in on others’ strengths rather than dysfunction, was how I wanted to practice. I wanted to be more engaged in the conversations that clients choose to focus on while interacting in a way that focuses and moves the client into action towards where they want to be in the future. My experience as a psychologist helps me recognize when someone would benefit more from a traditional therapeutic relationship approach, and in those instances I can make referrals.

As I was going through turmoil with my career, my personal life was also in a state of crisis. I was in a dysfunctional marriage and resistant to acknowledging that no matter what we tried, we could not regain the intimacy and connection that brought us together fifteen years earlier. I knew that it was not a positive environment for my son to be in. I did not want him to believe that relationships had to be as conflicted and cold as my marriage.

My fears and worries caused me to question what I truly wanted in life and figure out what would make me happiest personally and professionally. That is when I decided that I was going to do two of the hardest things I have ever had to do: change my career and file for divorce. These changes have revitalized me. I am excited and energized by the work that I do with others. This positive energy is contagious and has naturally improved my personal life as a mother, a partner, and as a friend. Although I have bad days, (which is inevitable), I notice that I’m able to be more open and honest with myself and the people in my life, which creates a natural sense of calm and connectedness within myself and my relationships.

EDUCATION:

• California Institute of Integral Studies, PsyD. Clinical Psychology

• Lesley University, Master of Arts in Psychology with Specialization in Expressive Art Therapy

• Providence College, Bachelor of Science in Psychology

CONTINUING EDUCATION TRAINING:

• Working Through Core Beliefs of Never Good Enough

• How Help Clients Heal From Deeply Internalized Judgement

• Three Tools to Help Clients Reverse a Sense of Worthlessness

• A Bottom- Up Approach to Working With Implicit Memories of Inadequacy

• How to Repair and Attachment History that Fosters Self Loathing

• How to Help Clients Disengage From Social Comparison

• How to Resource Clients Against Toxic Self- judgement

• How to Help Clients Internalize Positive Experiences

• How to Help Clients Reframe Their Never Good Enough Narrative

• How to Rewire the Self- Critical Mind

• How to Approach Unrealistic Expectations of Perfection

• How to Reverse the One Fear That Fuels Inner Contempt

• How Social Prejudice can Cultivate Imposter Syndrome

• How to Break the Never Good Enough Cycle in Relationships

• Relationship Coaching Certificate

• From Counselor to Coach: Making the Transition

• Performance Psychology: Optimizing Performance with Psychology

• Coaching for the Clinician

• Motivational Interviewing: Introduction and Application

• Coaching and Psychotherapy: Advanced Topics

• Children and Mental Health

• Engaging Family Members into Adolescent Drug Treatment

• Psychotherapeutic Medications- What Every Counselor Should Know

• Impact of Crime on Victims

• Childhood Sexual Abuse

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

• Working with Disorders of Body Image: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals

• Alcohol Problems in Intimate Relationships: Identification and Intervention

• Boundaries in Mental Health Treatment

• Issues in Domestic Violence Motivational Interviewing and Stages of Change

• Topics in Human Sexuality: Sexuality and Childhood Sexual Abuse

• Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep

• Tourette Syndrome

• CANS certification 2011 and 2013

• HIPPA Certification and Training for the provider

• CBT: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Technique for Everyday Clinical Practice

• Very Best Treatment for ADHD and Processing Disorders

• Fostering Success in Adolescents: The psychology of Science and Achievement

• A Theory of Utilization: Why and How Negative Experiences can be Transformed into Positive Ones (International Congress on Ericksonian Approaches to Hypnosis and Psychotherapy)

• Working with Trauma – Bessel Van Der Kolk

• Ethics and Risk Management in Psychotherapy Practice

• Working with Trauma – Bessel Van Der Kolk

• Ethics and Risk Management in Psychotherapy Practice

DISSERTATION:

• A grounded theory study of therapist’s perceptions of the use of expressive art therapy with grieving children.

PREVIOUS PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

• Compass Point Counseling, Nashua, New Hampshire -Owner/ Psychologist/ Licensed Mental Health Counselor

• North Star Guidance Center, INC., Chelmsford Massachusetts, Clinical Director/ Psychologist/Licensed Mental Health Counselor

• Stoneybrook Counseling Center, Chelmsford Massachusetts, Pre-doctoral Internship

• A Better Way, Berkeley, California, Pre-doctoral Internship

• California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, California, Teachers Assistant for Projective Assessment

• Walden House Adolescent Facility, San Francisco, California, Counselor and Case Manager

• California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, California, Art Therapist with Institute of Health and Healing

• Family Center, Somerville, Massachusetts, Counseling Intern

• Behavior, Management Private Hire for Child diagnosed with Autism Newton, Massachusetts

• Elan School, Portland, Maine Assistant Director/ Counselor

• Jackson Brooke Institute, South Portland, Maine Psychological Technician, Per Diem

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE:

• Ingraham volunteers: Crisis hotline worker

• Roger Williams Medical Center: Follow up interviewer for cancer program

• Mental Health Association of Rhode Island: Research Aid

• Rape Crisis Center: Office support staff member