Coursework and study included a specialized focus in Couples Therapy, Play Therapy, Emotionally Focused Therapy, addictions, Internal Family Systems, Sand Tray, Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, and Sex Therapy. 

My experience includes working in a private practice setting with children, couples, and individuals. I worked with those struggling with addictions, depression, anxiety, and trauma, as well as couples wanting to improve their relationship, and families wanting to improve functioning.

Emotionally Focused Therapy Training: I have completed both the EFT Externship as well as the Core Skills training, and am supervised by an EFT certified trainer. I also attend consult group in providing couples with Emotionally Focused Therapy.                  

Certified Prepare/Enrich Facilitator: Assessment and facilitation of conversations with couples pre-marital as well as married couples helping them gain a deeper understanding of themselves and the relationship.

Discernment Counseling Certified: If you or your spouse are considering divorce but are not completely sure that’s the best path, you are in a tough spot. And Discernment Counseling is designed for you. It’s a chance to slowdown, take a breath, and look at your options for your marriage.  Discernment Counseling is a new way of helping couples where one person is “leaning out” of the relationship—and not sure that regular marriage counseling would help--and the other is“leaning in”—that is, interested in rebuilding the marriage. The counselor will help you decide whether to try to restore your marriage to health, move toward divorce, or take a time out and decide later. The goal is for you to gain clarity and confidence about a direction, based on a deeper understanding of your relationship and its possibilities for the future.  The goal is not to solve your marital problems but to see if they are solvable. You will each be treated with compassion and respect no matter how you are feeling about your marriage at the moment. No bad guys and good guys.

You will come in as a couple but the most important work occurs in the one-to-one conversations with the counselor. Why? Because you are starting out in different places. The counselor respects your reasons for divorce while trying to open up the possibility of restoring the marriage to health. The counselor emphasizes the importance of each of you seeing your own contributions to the problems and the possible solutions. This will be useful in future relationships even if this one ends.

I am certified to administer and walk couples through the prepare/enrich curriculum and assessment, which can be helpful for premarital counseling as well as couples who want to strengthen/enrich their relationships. I work with couples by facilitating conversations that, at times, can be difficult to have without a third party, such as finances, communication, children and parenting, goals, leisure activities, work, sex and affection, relationsihp roles, marriage expectations, and spirtual beliefs. 

• Alcohol and Drug Certification: Currently being supervised and in consultation groups for certification.

• Hold Me Tight Couple’s Workshop Co-facilitator: Assisted couples through conversations for connection through a group/seminar weekend.

• Northwest Center for Play Therapy Studies (2016-2019): Participated in multiple sessions focusing on attachment/trauma, children in crisis, play therapy, and sandtray therapy.

• NW Institute of Addictions Studies Conferences (2016-2019): Participant.

• Sex and Couples Therapy (2016-2020): Participant in sex therapy consult group/individual supervision and trainings.

• Certified Sex Therapist Candidate: Working towards certification in Sex Therapy.

• ASIST: Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, Center for Suicide Prevention (2018)

• Gottman Method Level 1 Counselor Trained: The Gottman Method helps couples manage conflict and deepen intimacy.

• Training in Attachment in Couples Therapy with Dan Siegel and presented by National Marriage Seminars: Clinical Therapy Training.   

• Training at the Gottman Institute: Emotions, Trauma, & DBT: Integrating Research & Intervention 2015 Summit with J. Gottman, J. Schwartz-Gottman, M. Linehan, P. Eckman, R. Levenson, and R. Tedeshi.

• Restoring Intimacy Workshop with Stefanie Carnes, PhD, and Laura Brotherson, MS, MFT.

• Multicultural Awareness and Diversity Seminar with John Lee, PhD, on “Powerful Strategies to Improve Client Rapport and Cultural Competence.”

• Difficult Couples: The Way Through Training with Dr. Sue Johnson.

• Emotionally Focused Therapy for Family Therapy, Jim Furrow and Lisa Palmer-Olson: Training that uses an attachment-based approach that combines both systemic and experiential interventions to mend broken bonds and heal fractured families.

• Trauma-informed yoga: Certified and trained.

• American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT)

• Portland Center for Emotionally Focused Therapy (PCEFT)

• American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT)