Prior to graduating with my Masters and while working at Glendale Police Department, I volunteered my time as peer support for our officers and helped with officer involved shootings as well as line of duty deaths.

In 2012, I graduated from Argosy University, Phoenix, with my Masters in Counseling with a Forensic Concentration. Prior to graduating, I completed an internship at the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections. While there, I worked in various capacities to include intakes, substance use, SMI (seriously mentally ill), sexual behaviors, and violent offenders. After graduating with my Masters, I returned to Adobe as an employee and continued working on both the violent offender unit and the sexualized behaviors unit where I assisted in creating an updated sex education program and a pornography addiction program. The pornography program was created after witnessing numerous adolescents continuing to struggle with pornography use and the extreme impact it can have on a developing brain.

Upon leaving Adobe, I ventured into community mental health across the valley. I continued to work with children and adolescents struggling with sexualized behaviors, both in the criminal justice system and in the foster care system. It was in this capacity I noticed the correlation between sexualized behaviors and a history of trauma. Over the years, I have gained additional training and certifications in the field of trauma/complex trauma to further help those in need.

I am trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and ART (Accelerated Resolution Therapy). I am trained in Sand Tray Therapy, Play Therapy, and CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and incorporate these modalities in session to fit your needs. I have earned the designation of Emergency Responder and Public Safety Certified Clinician and am a Certified First Responder Counselor as well which helps further my understanding and involvement within the public safety culture. I utilize these various modalities and training experiences to meet you where you’re at and help you come to your own realizations. As a therapist, it is not my job to give you answers, but help you feel confident that you can find the answers within yourself.

One thing I noticed over the years is the frequent use of the words "resistant" or "avoidant" to therapy. From my perspective, it is not always a desire to avoid therapy, but instead, a desire to avoid past situations that continue to cause distress in life. Often times, we utilize avoidance as a form of distraction from having to experience those uncomfortable feelings. Due to this, we can sometimes feel overwhelmed in therapy when asked to go directly to the source of distress and be forced to discuss. My approach is different in that we work to lessen the distress without going into full details of past experiences and come to a state of relief, in a timeframe that works with you.

My goal as your therapist is to help you feel confident in managing day to day stressors and helping you alleviate distress about past experiences. I enjoy working with children and adolescents and helping them find a sense of self as well. No one should have to experience continued distress in their daily life and you have the power to do something about it!

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Additional Information:

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Certification Article from InMaricopa