About Me

I derive deep meaning from helping people discover, grow, and heal. Always have, always will. Psychotherapy is my chosen profession and practice for this life-long passion. I support people to develop their identities and grow their character through various life stages and transitions.

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Who I am. How I got here.

I took a unique route to becoming a psychotherapist.

For as far back in my life as I can remember, even as a young child, I have been fascinated by our minds, our emotions, our behaviors, our relationships, our suffering, but most of all—our healing and hope. ​I have always wondered about all the things that make us, “us,” you, “you” and me, “me.”

Much of that wonder emanates from living a challenging and diverse life. Even more of that wonder was uncovered in my own transformative psychotherapy.

Before making psychological healing my profession, I had careers in law and business. Yes, as I said, I took a unique route  …

After graduating from law school, I worked for a judge, a large law firm, then as in house counsel. While intellectually challenging, I was unsatisfied with the fighting and greed that too often accompanies legal matters. And while the words “Juris Doctor, Attorney and Counselor at Law” had often appeared after my name, I derived the most satisfaction in one of these designations above the others—Counselor. Supporting and counseling my clients through the complexity and stress of the legal system was far more satisfying than the issues being advocated.

Longing for a change, I left the legal profession to become a small business owner. And while there were intellectual challenges in practicing law and satisfaction in running businesses, it was always the matters of the heart and soul—those of my own and others—that shined through those experiences that brought me the most joy and meaning.

Enter the global pandemic in 2019.

The coronavirus pandemic rearranged our lives on a global, local, family, and individual scale. It brought much introspection and reevaluation to many of us, myself included. During this time I reevaluated my life and made the choice to return to my life-long passion of helping others in a deep and meaningful way, bringing me to where I am now: a psychotherapist. This is my passion. This is my “why.”

My clinical experience.

My clinical experience is as diverse as my life experience.

I began my clinical training in the largest behavioral health system in the country in the Intensive Outpatient and Partial Hospitalization treatment programs applying evidence-based therapeutic interventions to patients suffering from depression, anxiety, trauma, obsessive-compulsive disorder, addiction and cooccurring disorders. I provided individual and group psychotherapy according to clinical standards of care and collaborated with a multidisciplinary care team of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, behavior therapists, and nurses.

I also worked in a group private practice where I provided individual and couples psychotherapy applying gold-standard, evidence-based therapy modalities to clients with a full range of mental health conditions.

In each of these settings, I received training in evidence-based therapeutic modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Behavioral Activation, Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), among others. I applied these therapies and interventions to patients suffering from a full range of mental health conditions including depression, anxiety, trauma, obsessive-compulsive disorder, addiction and cooccurring disorders.

My therapeutic focus.

Today as a psychotherapist in private practice, I combine all my life experiences, academic learning, and clinical training as I treat adult individuals addressing issues related to stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, and relationship difficulties.

I help people through life transitions such as career, marriage, parenting, divorce, grief, loss in all its forms, and retirement. I work with people to develop their identities and character through various life stages.

Above all else, my therapeutic interests center around how our development, life experiences, and emotions all contribute to our behaviors, our suffering, and our flourishing. 

My professional qualifications.

I have a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Townsend Institute for Leadership and Counseling at Concordia University Irvine, a Juris Doctor from Chicago-Kent College of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Criminal Justice with High Distinction from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in the State of Illinois.

Additionally, I have pursued advanced professional certifications in anxiety, trauma, and couples therapy. I am a Certified Trauma Professional, Certified Anxiety Professional, and a Gottman Method Level 1 Certified Couples Therapist.

Education

• Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Townsend Institute for Leadership and Counseling at Concordia University Irvine

• Juris Doctor, Chicago-Kent College of Law

• Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Criminal Justice, University of Illinois at Chicago

Professional Licenses

• Licensed Professional Counselor, State of Illinois

• License to Practice Law, State of Illinois

Professional Certifications

• Certified Trauma Professional, Evergreen Certifications

• Certified Anxiety Professional, Evergreen Certifications

• Disaster Mental Health Certificate, American Red Cross

• The Science of Wellbeing Certificate, Yale University

• Gottman Method Level 1 Certified Couples Therapist, The Gottman Institute

• Mandated Abuse Reporter Certificate, California Department of Social Services

• HIPAA Safeguards & Best Practices Certificate, CE Learning Systems

• Coaching Skills Training, Center for Management & Organization Effectiveness

Professional Affiliations

• American Counseling Association, Member

• American Psychological Association, Member

• Illinois Counseling Association, Member

But enough about me. If you’d like me to learn more about you and how I might be able to help, contact me here. To learn more about my approach to therapy, click here.