I didn’t grow up dreaming of becoming a therapist. In fact, I didn’t know therapy existed. I grew up in a very religious home where my entire identity was shaped around becoming what the church taught me to be. 

If you have experienced high control religion you know this to be true- it’s a nuanced experience. While I have many positive memories, I was also taught that there were scary consequences to believing or doing the wrong things. Out of a need for belonging and survival from a terrifying fate, my worth became tied to perfectionism. This led to becoming less and less of who I was and more and more of who others wanted me to be. 

I felt constant shame and anxiety.

I truly believed “I’m not good enough” because I was taught I was inherently evil from birth. I didn’t try to get to know who I was or what I wanted in life because the script of who I should be as a woman was outlined for me clearly. 

In my twenties, I began having experiences where the beliefs I was taught weren’t adding up. I began to question things. And those questions led to more questions. And then what I call “the unraveling”.

The unraveling was not an empowering experience of brilliantly and confidently stepping into my truth. It was painful, confusing, and scary. It’s not about replacing  just a few specific beliefs. It’s an erasure of the entire way I saw myself and how the world worked. 

Just like choosing the red pill over the blue pill (or the birkenstock over the high heel, hello Barbie movie), I could no longer return to the illusion of what I knew before. I needed a new way of coping. New tools and resources. Enter my therapist. 

This was my turning point.

I began to learn new ways of coping with the anxiety, shame, and existential dread I was experiencing. But more importantly, my therapist gave me the gift of holding space for me to explore what I believed to be true. 

She didn’t indoctrinate me or tell me what to believe. She empowered me to go through the grief and the trauma in my way. I began to discover who I was instead of who I was taught to be. 

I learned how to be with the anxiety. 

I began to sit with the existential questions that arose from my beliefs changing. The religious guilt and shame began to lift.

Now I know how to do the continual work of addressing my own religious trauma, fear, and shame. I know how to shift away from that "I'm not good enough" message to a place of self compassion that even in my messiness "I am worthy, right here, right now". I am proud of my story and the person I am becoming.    

The Nitty Gritty

What You Can Expect Working With Me

As a therapist I take a specialized, collaborative and holistic approach. To offer a contrast, therapists who work with anyone will listen and reflect and it kind of stops there. This can be a good fit for some people. I, on the other hand, focus on working specifically with people braving their past and wanting to do deeper trauma work so that I not only listen and reflect but also will bring my expertise to the table. 

You are the expert of your life and I have over a decade of trauma specialized training. So we will bring both of our expertise to the table to find what helps you move through and forward in the direction you want to be going. You deserve a specialized approach and not another sounding board. 

So if you’ve felt discouraged by therapists just agreeing with you or keeping things focused on just the present and not helping you go deeper in your self understanding, I’m here to help. I am trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, a research proven technique that helps people reprocess their past. I am continually in training for Internal Family Systems, another technique that helps people gain a deeper understanding of themselves and know how to respond outside of the therapy office.

My practice is entirely online so that you can do therapy in the comfort of your home or wherever is convenient for you. I am licensed in three states- Colorado, Florida, and Idaho. This means we can work together if you are located in any one of these states. You deserve specialized support to tap into your own healing capacity and live your authentic life. 

If you’ve gotten this far and resonated, I’m betting we are a good fit. So take the next step. I offer a complimentary phone consultation for you to feel certain going into the first session that I am the right fit for you. Click below to get started.