During my PhD program, I completed two years of externship working with the LGBTQIA+ community in New York City with Dr. John Pachankis at the Yale School of Public Health. There, I was a therapist for the first (and still only) evidence-based clinical trial of affirmative therapy using the Unified Protocol for emotional disorders. These experiences and inspirational mentors have brought more sophistication to my ‘literary’ case formulations, and crystalized my interest in who we are as individuals and how we experience our relationships – the good and the bad. I have a passion for bringing attention to the importance of satisfying and authentic relationships in our lives, and advocating for the LGBTQIA+ community.

Adding to the diversity of cases and experience, I served Veterans and Veteran relationships at 3 VA hospitals around the country while obtaining expertise in cutting-edge and gold-standard trauma-focused therapy and couples therapy. In the VA I served as an advocate of non-judgmental, systems-focused approaches to mental health, relationships, trauma, serious mental illness, and at-risk populations. I continued to work with couples and families, as well as individuals, and focused on the impact of sexual assault, military sexual trauma, trauma-focused therapies, intimate partner violence, and providing LGBTQIA+ affirming therapy and safe spaces for sexual and gender minority Veterans. I also continued to publish and be a part of research supporting LGBTQIA+ experiences and mental health.