My Training and Background

Experience working with emotionally overwhelming relationship patterns

My training and professional background have been shaped by working in settings where emotions run high and relationships matter deeply to the people in them. I’ve held clinical and leadership roles across residential and outpatient treatment programs, college counseling centers, group practice, and the Veterans Health Administration. Across these settings, I’ve worked with individuals and couples navigating trauma, chaotic substance use, and relationship patterns that feel overwhelming — often in relationships that feel worth fighting for because there is real friendship, care, and history underneath the conflict.

My training and experience also crafted me into a therapist and person who takes a social-contextual approach to work with clients. I pay close attention to how systems like racism, sexism, and heteronormativity influence emotional expression, power, and connection in relationships. Many of the people I work with are actively trying to unlearn patterns they didn’t choose or learn how to work together to cope with external stressors like conflicting family cultural values or oppression in the workplace. They often want support building relationships that feel more mutual, affirming, and intentional.

My experiences have trained me to stay steady when things feel complicated, to slow moments down when emotions escalate, and to help people see the deeper emotional patterns and context shaping their interactions — especially the attachment needs, social context, fears, and longings that often go unspoken or misunderstood in conflict.

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