Ages I work with:
Children 3 years and up, teens, young adults
Languages I speak:
English
Who I am:
I am a cisgender, heterosexual female, and use she/her pronouns.
I love working with:
- Children between the ages of 3 and 7 years old with separation anxiety, frequent or intense tantrums, or repetitive behaviors (e.g., hair pulling, thumb sucking, skin picking) and their parents who are looking for fresh ideas on how to respond.
- Neurodiverse preteens and teens (e.g., ADHD, ASD) with social anxiety, generalized anxiety, low self-confidence, or a dip in mood.
- Preteens and teens with anxiety and/or depression who continuously find themselves getting into trouble at school/home/in the community and have a strong desire to change.
- College-age adults struggling with the transition from high school to college/”adult” life who are now experiencing more overwhelming emotions and changes in their functioning (e.g., poorer sleep) as a result.
My training background and therapy approaches include:
I earned my PhD in clinical psychology from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale with an emphasis on working with children and adolescents. I completed my predoctoral internship with the UMSL Internship Consortium and a postdoctoral fellowship with the Knights of Columbus Developmental Center at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, both in St. Louis.
When working with therapy clients I use primarily Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and behavioral parent management training strategies, along with some dialectical behavioral therapy skills training and acceptance-based strategies. My testing approach is evidence/research-based using the most updated tools and informed by neurodivergent-affirming and therapeutic assessment practices.
How I help:
My style in therapy and testing is authentic and personable. I aim to meet you where you are and provide strategies and support that will help. In testing, my goal is to collaborate together to understand you or your child. I strive to provide a meaningful, tailored document and recommendations that will best serve your unique needs, whether that be to advocate for supports in educational settings, provide direction and tailoring treatment goals for your mental health, or simply to gain an understanding of who you are and start to answer some of the “why” questions.
More about me:
In my free time I enjoy playing board and card games (saying I have a large collection would be an understatement), watching crime documentaries, trying new recipes, working on Lego kits, and spending time with family and friends.
