​ABOUT
​
I am a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist which means I have specific training in relationship configurations of all types. I received my education from the California Institute for Integral Studies in San Francisco, CA with a focus in Somatic Psychotherapy. There I had a full time private practice for several years before moving inland to Denver, CO in 2018. I hold licenses in both states. 

​The focus of my continued education and training is in Somatic Psychotherapy which means I value the significance of the physical and energetic body and it's connection to our thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and relationship to self and other. I also teach at local universities, offer consultations and supervise counseling interns seeking licensure.

​MY APPROACH

With big heart and authentic guidance, together we create the space for your change process to unfold. 

We are more than our thoughts. We exist in layers. Therefore, I have found it most effective to explore the whole person - physiologically, behaviorally, cognitions and spiritually - before we can decide where we're going. When we explore and include all of us, we find the beginning of how you came to be, then inquire where to repair in order to pave where you'd like to go.

Sometimes I use breathing techniques, movement, co-regulating touch and table work. In my experience, when including the body (soma) in the present moment, self awareness develops, regulation is experienced and truths are often revealed more readily than just via our verbal mind. Where talk therapy can sometimes only get us so far, my approach attempts to repair the preverbal, the wiring in the brain and nervous system that didn't get to develop to their fullest potential early on.

In my experience, an optimal life is about evolving out of dissatisfying "ways of being" and adapting to different behaviors and postures which feel better. Often times, these maladaptive ways of being got wired internally within our first five years of life. With my intuitive touch and guidance and your increased mindfulness and self awareness, choices appear when in the past we might have felt a victim to life, our emotions, and/or relationships.


MY TRAINING

My training has focused on Somatic (Body-Oriented) Psychotherapy and I am influenced by my 25+ years as a Yoga Instructor and Practitioner, iRest® Yoga Nidra, Mindfulness practices, Laws of Attraction, Co-Regulating Touch Somatic Practice with Kathy Kain and Stephen J. Terrell, Hakomi, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Strength Based Therapy, Humanistic Psychology, Transpersonal Psychology, Gestalt, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

​I've worked at a variety of settings including:
Naropa University, Boulder, CO
​Regis University, Denver, CO
University of Colorado, Denver, CO
Chanda Center for Wellness, Lakewood, CO
Private Practice San Francisco, CA and Denver, CO
California Institute for Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA
Womens Recovery Association, Burlingame, CA
California Counseling Institute, San Francisco, CA
The Center for Somatic Psychotherapy, San Francisco, CA
The Addiction Technology Transfer Center, Kansas City, MO
Greenpath Yoga, San Francisco, CA
The Mindful Body, San Francisco, CA
Alvarado Elementary School, San Francisco, CA
Talk Line, San Francisco, CA
Kid's Turn, San Francisco, CA
​Maya Yoga, Kansas City, MO
Accessible Arts, Kansas City, MO
Evanston YMCA Battered Women's Shelter, Evanston, IL
Unity Spiritual Center, Evanston IL & Kansas City, MO

​Education, Certifications and Professional Memberships
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Colorado #1479
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in California #48163 
American Association of Marriage & Family Therapists Approved Supervisor 
Releasing the Body from the Bonds of Trauma: A Somatic Approach to Healing Abandonment Issues and Attachment Wounds with Peter Levine
Working with the Emotional Roots of Physical Pain with Peter Levine
Integrative Sex and Couples Certification Training with Tammy Nelson
Mindful Communication/Nonviolent Communication
Treating Trauma Master Series with the National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine
Couples Therapy: Terry Real's Relational Life Therapy
The Somatics of Common Complex Emotions (Kathy L. Kain & Tony Richardson)
The Somatics of Emotions (Kathy L. Kain & Tony Richardson)
Touch Skills for Trauma Therapists (Kathy Kain, Somatic Experiencing)
Somatic Resilience and Regulation (Kathy Kain & Stephen Terrell, Somatic Experiencing)
American Association of Marriage & Family Therapists Clinical Fellow
California Association of Marriage & Family Therapists
International Association of Yoga Therapists
Yoga Alliance Certified Teacher
California Institute for Integral Studies, San Francisco: MA Somatic Psychotherapy
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: BA Dual Major Political Science and Communications
iRest® Yoga Nidra Level I
World School of Massage 200 Hour Certification​