ABOUT ME
Even though this page is titled, “About Me,” I know that you ended up here because you need something – and it probably isn’t my resume.
You may be wondering if I can help you, and why I might be different from your last counselor, or the next one on the list.
You might feel like life is really hard, maybe even hopeless or out of control due your or a loved one’s porn or sex addiction, affairs, divorce, PTSD or unresolved trauma.
If this fits you…I want you to know that I get it. I feel sad for your pain, and also excited for your future because this is a starting point for hope and change.
If you are ready, here’s the stuff about me, but it is really about how I can help you.
1. I have invested years in being trained by the world’s foremost experts in betrayal trauma and sex addiction interventions and treatments. This is my speciality.
- As a Certified Partner Trauma Therapist (CPTT) and a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT), I use cutting edge trauma tools such as Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), and neurofeedback to help clients heal from PTSD, betrayal trauma, grief and loss, and to change unwanted patterns and behaviors related to pornography and sex addiction behaviors.
2. I really want to help you to figure this out, and honesty and kindness are important to me.
- Together, we will gently explore and repair core self-beliefs, triggers, patterns and rituals for increased self-compassion and healing.
- We will work together at your pace, because you are the expert on you. While I can’t walk through your pain for you, I can be with you as you go through it. I can be your witness and even help pull you up when it feels too hard or heavy. I can offer hope and perspective when hope is scarce.
3. Relationships are important. I want to help you have a great (and honest) relationship with yourself and with others.
- As you begin to understand, challenge, and change patterns and behaviors, your relationships with yourself and others can begin to heal. Shame will erode, hope will begin to emerge, and trust and attachment will begin to be rebuilt through honest responsibility and courageous vulnerability. Resources, support groups, and various forms of formal therapeutic disclosures will be utilized to heal damaging past beliefs related to trauma, shame and secrets.
- Emotional awareness and regulation tools will strengthen your relationships as you as you learn to identify needs and to make appropriate requests from your partners and others. Growth, change, attachment and healing will then occur through the creation, development, and adoption of new, healthy life patterns boundaries, and behaviors.
My Therapeutic Approach and Philosophy
I believe that individuals are the experts in their lives, and that they hold the keys to personal healing. My goal is to provide a safe space where clients can define and achieve their goals, find and give voice to their stories, and achieve personal growth, empowerment, and change through self-compassion and self-care, while challenging the unhealthy patterns and barriers which prevent them from living joyfully.
Outside the Office
I am involved in advocacy and policy work regarding pornography as a public health crisis, a member of The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE’s) outreach team The Safeguard Alliance, a founder of Step Up Washington an anti-pornography coalition, and a member of the Tri-Cities Coalition Against Trafficking (TCCAT).
I love warm beaches, spanish music, traveling and exploring with my family, acrylic pour painting, watching Colorado Rockies baseball games, spending time outdoors, eating food from my garden and watching our honey bees.