About Me
Hello and welcome to my virtual office! If this were a physical office you would likely see an appropriate ( or abundance) amount of plants, pictures of the brain and nervous system, and the poem Desiderata by Max Ehrmann scattered around the walls amongst a comfy couch and a feeling of this is new, but this is cozy.
It is so nice to meet you, and I look forward to getting to know you further. Until then here is a little bit about me on a personal and professional level !
I’m a military spouse of 6+ years and at the time of writing this, we are currently located in Pensacola, FL. My dad was active duty for 30 years and primarily served during the times of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. In my undergrad I studied psychology and primarily focused on child development and the preserving of attachment (the sense of security children feel to their caregivers) during parental separations, mostly related to military deployments. I started working in ABA therapy and did some parental trainings with military families.
I married in 2017 and continued my training and education in Okinawa, Japan. We moved to Norfolk, VA in 2019 where I completed my masters in Marriage and Family Therapy with a specialization in Military Family Therapy in 2021. I continued to explore the connection of neuroscience and saw value to teaching about the brain amongst a therapeutic setting. I had many clients explain that just understanding why their brain reacted the way it did gave them so much more power to change conflict causing cycles.
Other experiences in learning include the Gottman method, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Polyvagal theory and other emotion and nervous system focused therapies. I truly value empowering others with education on the body, brain , and their connection to how we manage and heal from conflict.
After our third move in three years I decided to create this platform and offer a space where military couples and families could seek connection, counseling, and education on their marriage and parenting. In my own marriage, I found it challenging to even want to make a connection with a counselor knowing that we might move soon, or if our counselor or therapist was military, they might move soon, and then my husband and I would have to get comfortable with yet again, another person. In my clients’ experience, some wanted just a one maybe two session check in after a physically and emotionally exhausting move. Someone who already knew their story, so they didn’t have to waste time doing another “get to know you” session when they just wanted to explore a surfacing conflict, or and upcoming deployment. I am so happy to have the courage, education, and resources to offer this space and look forward to learning, growing, and if needed, moving with you!
