Education and Training

 

I completed my undergraduate education at Eastern Oregon University, where I studied Psychology, English, and Chemistry.  I earned my master's and doctorate degrees from Utah State University's Combined Clinical/Counseling/School Psychology program, and I completed my post-doctoral internship at Oregon State University's Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). I have also previously worked as a counseling psychologist at Washington State University and Willamette University.

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I have received specialty training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Additionally, I have sought out and continue to engage in ongoing education related to the specific areas of trauma recovery, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and LGBTQ issues.

 

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Professional Philosophy

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As a therapist, I work from an integrative framework that is rooted in existential/humanistic, neurobiological, and multicultural theories. Because I understand that pain and uncertainty are unavoidable realities of life, I don't approach counseling from a standpoint of "fixing" or "curing" people. Rather, my job is to assist individuals in becoming more fully engaged in their lives and to help them make choices that will build meaning and purpose. In accordance with my deep respect for each person's right to autonomous self-direction, I work to help my clients recognize both their personal strengths and their limitations, and I encourage clients to take appropriate risks with an ultimate goal of increased insight, skill, and flexibility. I utilize the tenets of multicultural theory in order to attend to issues of power, privilege, and oppression, and I seek to be continually alert to the ways in which culture, systems, process, values, and language impact my clients' experiences. Finally, I incorporate interventions from evidence-based treatment models (e.g., ACT, MI, IFS, EMDR) into my work in order to build robust, scientifically supported, and holistic treatment plans that will work for each unique client.

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