Focus Area

I work with adolescents, adults, and couples on individual and relational challenges. Some of the areas I enjoy working include, but are not limited to, anxiety, depression, work life balance, inner confidence, ADHD/learning disability coping, traumatic and stressful experiences, work and legal, general life stress, grief and loss, chronic pain, identity challenges and other concerns.

As a Resident of Counseling, M.A, I work with clients to help them share and understand their stories, better understand where they come from, how this affects our future, and how to rewrite life without so much past gravity weighing us down.  Working with my clients I enjoy helping them reflect on past successes, realizing and embracing thier inner strengths, and fostering confidence.

I feel that no two people are the same and thus no two therapeutic processes should exactly alike!  Thus, you and your goals, experiences, and pace drive the direction of therapy.

Background

My professional experience has spanned 25 years and has included 16 years of owning and operating a successful business in Northern Virginia. Previous to that I spent many years managing the production of Technology Firms during the .COM revolution where we created numerous small businesses platforms that have ultimately paved the way for much of how we live today!

I’ve kept myself busy with my family, coaching over 50 baseball teams, playing over 15 years of softball, parenting, and sailing.  Most recently my family and I completed a yearlong sabbatical over the 2020/2021 school year where we purchased and sailed a boat from England, across the Atlantic, into the Caribbean and up through the east coast to Massachusetts.

I’ve found my life wandering down numerous roads, enjoying different aspects of my careers, and am thrilled that my past experiences have led me to be a Licensed Resident Therapist.

Areas of Specialization

My interest focuses on helping people find a new way of looking at what has happened to them.  Professionally speaking I operate in an eclectic environment, as no two clients are the same, and thus my approach to helping each client will be unique to that client’s needs.

I like to work with people finding inner strength and personal growth, in fact I love it!  Working with my clients to better understand what’s happened to them, what their hurdles are, what their blind spots are, and to find the best way to help them overcome their challenges.

I see myself as a someone who can help people achieve their visions of what they want their life to look and feel like.   Today I yearn to work with individuals and couples to help them achieve their goals so they can manage their personal and professional challenges in a way that is helpful and rewarding to them individually.

Education

Learning Disabilities Turned into a Strength

Education for me has always been daunting!  I’m tormented by a wide array of learning disabilities to which I’ve overcome (barely).  Yet, as my life has changed, my personal goals and outlook have changed as well.  I can see now that these challenges have also been strengths, and in many ways its these impediments that have pushed me to grow as much as I have.  Through it all, I’ve earned a masters degree from Wake Forest University in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, a masters degree from The Johns Hopkins University in Environmental Science, and a bachelors Degree in Marine Safety and Environmental Protection from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

Education:

The Wake Forest University

  • Masters of Arts in Counseling
  • Chi Sigma Iota, Honor Society Member

The Johns Hopkins University

  • Masters of Science, Environmental Science

The Massachusetts Maritime Academy

  • Bachelors Degree in Marine Safety and Environmental Science

License and Supervision:

  • Resident of Counseling, M.A. NCC
  • Resident License of Counseling: Virginia / 0704014494
  • School: Wake Forest University
  • Year Graduated: 2020
  • Supervisor: Sharon Watson, LPC, LMFT, LSATP, NCC, ACS
  • Supervisor License: Virginia / 0701002169

Certificates and Training

  • National Certified Counselor (NCC)
  • Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) Certified
  • Passed the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE), needed for Virginia State licensure
  • The Women’s Center: Completed a yearlong Clinical Training Program
  • PRS Crisis Text Connect Certified
  • Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM) Certified