Roseville Counselor | Roseville EMDR

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Professional Info:

I am very interactive during our sessions and enjoy helping my clients tap into their innate gifts. My clients tell me they appreciate my interactive style. Clients also say they appreciate a neutral third party that can give them expert feedback-which makes the counseling relationship uniquely different than any other relationship with your friends or family.  I collaborate with my clients to help them find their own unique path to feeling better.

I tailor the methods I use depending on the situation and individual involved.  I also believe that a skilled therapist offers more than support.  I am here to help you grow and heal in a way that maximizes your capabilities.

I have post-graduate training in EMDR, complex PTSD (CPTSD), trauma issues, the neurobiology of attachment & trauma, pregnancy adjustment, postpartum issues, attachment therapy, attachment parenting, crime survivors, adult abuse survivors, sand tray therapy, play therapy, premarital counseling (PREPARE-ENRICH) and anxiety. I also have specific training from Phyllis Klaus in working with childbirth trauma and the adjustment of sexual abuse survivors during the pregnancy and postpartum period. I have completed workshops created by Bessel van der Kolk (“The Body Keeps the Score”) and Stephen Porges (“The Polyvagal Theory”). I have completed coursework towards certification as an Integrative Mental Health Provider. 

Before private practice I gained extensive experience with varied populations including:

-CSUS Women’s Resource Center/LGBTQ Resource Center

-Jewish Family Service as a counselor and high school after school program coordinator/group counselor.

-AFTER Counseling Agency working with foster children, abuse survivors, children with attachment disorders and PTSD, depression, anxiety and family reunification.

-Kids’ Turn divorce education programs.

-Placer County Adult System of Care with both senior citizens and individuals coping with mental illness such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

I hold a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in marriage, family & child counseling.  I am a licensed marriage & family therapist (MFC#43983) and I also hold a second license as a licensed professional clinical counselor (LPCC#175) and I regularly take quality continuing education classes and consult with colleagues as a way of maintaining a high quality of care for my clients.  I have worked in this field since 2000 in both Sacramento and Placer counties.  Because of this I have unique insight and information about our community’s mental health and court systems that can be helpful during times of transition and difficulty. 

 I have experience supporting people going through difficult interactions with the court system including testifying against a crime perpetrator. I have completed coursework as a Mental Health Integrative Medicine Provider which allows me to support my clients in making informed choices about nutrition, exercise, supplements and other holistic/complimentary lifestyle choices.

My theoretical orientation is firmly rooted in the belief that our bodies and minds are strongly connected and to improve emotional well being, especially in relation to trauma and other intense life events, we must work with the neurobiology of a person’s nervous system and go deeper than traditional talk therapy.  

I am a member of CAMFT (the California Association of Marriage & Family Therapists) and EMDRIA (the EMDR international association). 

Personal info:

Many therapists become therapists because they have had their own personal struggles.  This was also true for me.  After being exposed to some fairly difficult and unsafe situations in my early life, the field of psychology drew me in so I could understand how people put their lives back together after surviving extreme difficulties.  This led me into an amazing career and private practice.  I feel so lucky to be able to spend my working hours helping people become stronger and more resilient after facing trauma and loss.  As a therapist I have proudly provided volunteer pro bono services for the Give An Hour program for active duty military personnel and also volunteered for Solace for Mothers, a non profit aimed at raising awareness around birth trauma.  I care deeply about the missions of both of these programs-serving our military personnel and families and helping new moms and dads.

It makes my work extra fulfilling to see people healing from traumas and losses that many other therapeutic interventions can’t help.

When I’m not at work I love spending time with my daughter, husband and family enjoying the outdoors and the many amenities Northern California has to offer.  I love being physically active and enjoy dance, yoga and most of all creating projects with my daughter.  For some reason stray dogs in need of rescue keep finding their way to my home-so we enjoy spending time with our adopted dogs.