I am a Licensed Clinical Social worker with over eighteen years of experience in both the public and private sector. I hold a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from East Tennessee State University, earned in 2004. Initially intending to pursue a Master's degree in Forensic Anthropology at the University of Tennessee, my career trajectory shifted during my final semester due to an impactful internship with a police department. This experience led me to redirect my focus towards clinical social work.
Subsequently, in 2006, I obtained a Master's of Social Work from East Tennessee State University. I became licensed in 2008 while working for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Following a move to the New River Valley in 2012, I began seeing clients in private practice and realized this was my true calling. I founded Healing Tree Counseling in Blacksburg with my business partner in 2014. When the pandemic hit and all sessions were accessible virtually through telehealth it allowed me to return home to the Tri-Cities and continue providing care to my clients. I’m excited to continue this work and build HART with the same principals; to offer top tier mental health support for our community.
I feel incredibly fortunate to have a career centered around supporting others through life’s challenges and heartaches. I consider it a privilege to be allowed access into my clients inner worlds, joining them on their journey towards self discovery and healing.
My approach emphasizes providing compassionate but realistic support in a safe and non-judgmental space. I like to say therapy is where you can turn the filters off, speak freely and be your authentic self.
Together, we explore emotions and identify thoughts, feelings and behaviors that might be holding you back. By recognizing and understanding these barriers, individuals can be empowered to make decisions toward a more balanced life. With empathy, humor and respect for your uniqueness we’ll collaborate to understand what’s hindering you from living your best life.
I work with clients collaboratively to develop a plan that addresses your needs, incorporates your strengths and alleviates your symptoms in the most timely way possible. I provide short-term, solution-oriented psychotherapy, as well as long-term, insight oriented therapy depending on my clients' needs and wishes. My therapeutic style is eclectic: drawing from various methods based on what best suits your needs. I’m a fan of attachment theory, Internal family systems, polyvagal theory and mindfulness. Ultimately, I believe theory should serve the individual, not dictate the process.
Exploring your relationship to yourself, to important others in your life, and how you relate to me will help us in this endeavor. All the outcome research on successful therapy shows that a supportive authentic relationship between client and therapist is the most important treatment factor; therefore I stress the development of that kind of mutual trust, directness, and honesty (with tact).
How do you know when a therapist is right for you? I believe in trusting your intuition and “interviewing” therapists until you feel it’s a good fit. Therapy is hard but also very rewarding. I invite you to bring your full range of feelings about starting therapy to an exploratory first session to see if we would be a good match.