I love laughter! There is nothing like a belly laugh to uplift the spirit and free the heart. I also love to really connect to people, to be intentionally and fully present. I have learned so much about life through some very surprising encounters with unique individuals. The road to being a counselor has been a long and winding one. It has been rich in discovery, healing, growth, and my own reaching out for fullness and joy. It has also been touched by sadness, difficulties, struggles, and trauma. I believe firmly that unless I have “practiced what I preach” than I don’t have much to offer others. My journey continues, and I am committed to engaging and being fully present today, with my whole heart and spirit. Sometimes that means digging in the dirt with my grandson, listening to my daughter sing, drinking coffee with a friend, smelling a chocolate (and of course eating it!), petting my cat, or laughing with my husband. Here is an invitation to connect with me!
Education and Experience:
I obtained my Masters degree in Counseling from Colorado Christian University in 2014. Since 2013, I have been working as a counselor and advocate for victims of intimate partner violence and abuse, utilizing trauma informed practices and crisis intervention tools. In my counseling experience I have worked with depression, anxiety, grief, self-esteem and shame issues, and extensively with trauma and PTSD. My work involved counseling adults, working with children, and supporting families. In addition to my professional counseling experience, I have a life-time of lay counseling and advocacy experience with women’s issues in a variety of settings, mainly with non-profit organizations.
I am an adoptive parent of two daughters, who were adopted at the ages of 8 and 4 years old. Much of my professional training as been geared towards understanding attachment theory, parenting tools for foster care and adopted children, and the neurobiology of trauma response.
Training Includes:
- Neurobiology of Healing through Play Therapy with Bonnie Badenoch
- The Use of Expressive Therapies and Attachment Work when Working with Traumatized Children and their Families with Eliana Gil
- Introduction to Synergetic Play Therapy with Lisa Dion
- Trauma, Attachment and Neuroscience with Bessel A. Van der Kolk
- Northern Colorado Domestic Violence Summit with Lundy Bancroft
- Beyond Consequences and Help for Billy in the Classroom with Heather Forbes (focused on adoptive and foster child needs and parenting strategies)
- Restoration of the Heart with Dan Allender and John Eldredge
- Certification in Neuroptimal Advanced Brain Training Systems
- Working towards certification: Dr. Amen’s Brain Health Coaching Certification
“What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we are not able to cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves? This is the most important of all voyages of discovery, and without it, all the rest are not only useless, but disastrous” (Thomas Merton).