Mental Health Clinical Trainee
If you’re reading this, then you’ve already done the hard thing—you’ve taken that step toward healing that can often feel so overwhelming. You’re looking at bios, called your insurance (maybe?), you’re doing the thing. Choosing a therapist is a combination of a vibe check and sussing out whether they know their stuff. Hopefully what I tell you here can give you a sense of whether we’d be a good fit. My clients tell me I’m warm, and I’ll take it. They also tell me I keep it real. I’ll add that as a mindfulness practitioner and teacher, I weave that good energy into every session—if you work with me, that will be foundational to what we do.
My clients are creative, in a lot of pain, and looking for someone who can help them untangle the knots in their heads and hearts. They're tired of talk therapy that goes nowhere. They want tools that help. They want new ways of thinking and looking at the world and themselves. They want to build the life they long for.
My clients are looking for someone to help them access their inner wisdom. My approach is one of empowerment, where you are in the driver’s seat. I’m a storyteller, with a background in the arts. Together, our work is to hold your story with care as we work through the tough stuff, the plot twists, the triumphs, the transformations.
As a queer clinician, I work with many clients who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community and feel honored to provide a place for them to land, take a breath, be heard, gather resources, and come up with a plan together to stay safe and regulated as they navigate these times.
Most of my clients have depression or anxiety—usually the double scoop of both. I work with clients who have SPMI, PTSD, C-PTSD, Borderline, or a Bipolar diagnosis. My specialization is in trauma, DBT, and working with creatives, where we integrate mental health into process and practice. As you’ll see, I have two arts degrees and I’m also a professional writer with major publishers when I’m not wearing my clinical hat. I’m passionate about working with creatives and using DBT to help them build tools to support them in and out of their creative spaces.
This quote by Adrienne Rich sums up the work we can do together: “There must be those among whom we can sit down and weep and still be counted as warriors.” You can weep, and I will still consider you a warrior.
Services Provided at MCP
Individual and Group Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Individual Psychotherapy for Adults
Mindfulness Education
Creativity and Mental Health Skills Support
Areas of Clinical Interest
DBT; PTSD; C-PTSD; BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder); Bipolar Disorder; Depression; Anxiety; Grief and Loss; Performance Anxiety; Inner Critic and Creative Blocks; Group Therapy; Spiritual Trauma; Gender-Based Violence; Chronic Pain; SPMI
Education
M.S.W., Saint Catherine University (St. Paul, MN)
M.F.A. in Creative Writing, Vermont College of Fine Arts (Montpelier, VT)
BA in Theater, University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
Specialized Training
Certification in Mindfulness Facilitation, UCLA Mindfulness Awareness Research Center (2022-2023)
Politics of Trauma, Staci Haines (2024)
Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness Certified Practitioner, David Treleaven (2022)
Professional Affiliations
National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
Authors Guild