I want to work together with people to experience more happiness, less suffering, and more balance during the difficult times of life. I believe this is best done by being grounded in a basic sense of okayness within our bodies, opening our hearts to our direct experiences in life, and seeing ourselves and others with more understanding and compassion.
In sessions, and assigned as homework between sessions, I will teach my clients mindfulness skills to relax the body, and we will try to reduce their emotional and mental suffering by openly looking at the painful experiences they have gone through, both past and present. I help clients do this by exploring their relationships, their cultures, and the roles they have played within those dynamics. This is typically where trauma, anxiety, depression, and many other mental-health symptoms come into the picture. My clients will use mindfulness skills from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to relax their bodies and gain insight into themselves and others. They will use the framework of Relational-Cultural Therapy to explore, as the name implies, how they have been impacted by their relationships and culture. And they will use Nonviolent Communication to reframe how they speak with others to get their needs met more effectively.
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Oregon. I hold a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from George Fox University (2020). I also hold a bachelor’s degree in Religion from Dartmouth College (2013).
