about me.

I’m not your typical therapist. I’m real. I’m sarcastic. I love to find ways to laugh about our problems and I tend to roll my eyes a LOT. The thought of a stale, clinical therapy experience makes me feel ill. It doesn’t all have to be so serious!!! If you’re looking for something outside the box and a therapist who can dive into problems but keep the humor in the room, I might be your person.

I have a nerd-level fascination with the brain science behind why we do what we do and why we feel what we feel.  I enjoy working with clients who like to dig into problems (and by that I kinda mean “obsess”) and I really love working with people who consider themselves, or their problems, to be different than other people. (anxious-ADHD-autistic-neurotic-perfectionist types….yes, yes, yes!)

My husband and I managed to space our children out in such a way that we have 18 straight years of parenting teenagers.   (I don’t recommend this, by the way.)  By the time I was 40, I decided to go back to school, first to study chemical dependency counseling followed by an undergrad degree in psychology.  I went to graduate school where I earned a masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy - with a specialization in Child and Adolescent Family Therapy.

The endless years of parenting teens is DIRECTLY connected to me going back to school. If you have a teen you know exactly what happened here: we were defeated, I knew it, and I was INTENT to WIN the battle. (I don’t recommend trying to win!)

I completed a rigorous grad school internship at Attachment and Trauma Specialists, specializing in treating kids with attachment disorders and other behavior issues. I have been working in social service since 2003, working in drug treatment programs, youth shelters and housing service programs as well as an adolescent residential mental health program (it was in an adolescent girls residential program that I was told repeatedly that there was no way I could be a therapist because I can’t hide what I’m thinking- it shows on my face. I’m still not quite sure how to feel about that. Gotta love teenage girls!).  

If you’re looking for a therapist who was or is a perfect person….well, that’s not me. If you’re looking for someone a little different…..schedule an appointment, let’s see if we click!

In my individual and family work, I use the following:

  • Narrative Therapy

  • Emotionally Focused Therapy

  • EMDR

  • Structural Family Therapy

  • Motivational Interviewing

  • SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions)

I have specialized training and experience in: neurodivergence, attachment disorders, addiction, trauma, anxiety and oppositional defiant disorder.

Licenses and Certifications:

Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Washington State #LH61287862

Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Vermont #068.0134844TELE

Licensed Mental or Behavioral Telehealth Counselor, Idaho #2161175

Certified EMDR Therapist, EMDRIA

EMDR Consultant in Training, EMDRIA

Certified Anger Management Specialist, National Anger Management Association (please note: I do not do Anger Management Assessments for court-involved situations)

Certified Crisis Intervention Specialist III, National Anger Management Association

Certified Life Coach, World Coach Institute

Certified Addiction Coach, World Coach Institute

Insurance information:

At this time I can accept:

  • Regence

  • HMA

  • Kaiser

  • First Choice

I do not bill other insurances; however, you may have out-of-network benefits, which means that insurance will reimburse you for a portion of our session cost. I have partnered with Thrizer to handle the out-of-network process automatically for you. With Thrizer, (for insurances other than Blue Cross/Blue Shield), you will only have to pay a copay for our sessions, instead of paying my full fee and waiting for reimbursements. This typically allows clients to save on average 70% upfront on our sessions.
‍If you have a Blue Cross Blue Shield Plan (other than Regence), you will have to pay my full fee and will receive a paper check reimbursement in a few weeks.

You can check your out of network benefits with Thrizer by clicking here: Thrizer