ABOUT ME

The road to becoming a therapist was a long and winding one.

It started in childhood, experiencing profound and life-altering trauma that I never spoke about in any healing way until my late 20s. I grew up in a beach town with two brothers, always outside, always making things — building forts, searching for shells, creating imaginary worlds. Art and nature were my refuge long before I had words for why.

Adolescence was hard. I was fortunate to travel — to Mexico, Ecuador and a school year in Switzerland — and those experiences broadened my understanding of what it means to be human. Being exposed to different cultures and worldviews gave me a deep sense that we are all connected and that we have a responsibility to each other and to this planet.

College brought new challenges, and my 20s were shaped by an abusive relationship I survived. When I was finally able to leave, I was lost. Highly dissociated. Without a solid sense of myself or my purpose.

It was through my own work with an extraordinary therapist that I began reconnecting to the true parts of myself that I had hidden away and protected, while slowly building myself anew. We used art, somatics, talk therapy and even kung fu. But mostly it was the genuine relationship that healed so much of the damage. That experience showed me firsthand what real therapeutic connection makes possible.

It was also when I rediscovered my passion for art making. Realizing I could combine the two things I cared about most — creativity and helping people heal — changed everything. I enrolled in prerequisite courses right away and never looked back.

Art making is magic. It allowed me to be safe and vulnerable at the same time. To be seen. To express things that have no words. Self-expression — whether through art, dance, music or any creative form — is a fundamental part of being human. It's how we connect, to ourselves and to each other.

My own creative practice has shifted over the years based on space, time and capacity. I'm drawn to mixed media assemblage, watercolor and photography. But for me it has always been about exploration and experimentation, not perfection.

That's the same philosophy I bring to my work with clients.

I hold a Master of Psychology in Marriage and Family Therapy and Art Therapy from Phillips Graduate University and a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from Emory University. I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT #128896), a Registered Art Therapist (ATR #24-073) and a Certified Reiki Practitioner. I have worked with children, adolescents and adults across schools, community mental health settings and private practice — including facilitation of art therapy groups for formerly incarcerated people through the Anti-Recidivism Coalition.

I now offer telehealth therapy throughout California, working with people who are ready to grow, change and reconnect with themselves.