I am a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) and registered expressive arts therapist (REAT). I received my masters degree at California Institute of Integral Studies. I have worked for over ten years gaining clinical experience across the lifespan with children and adults struggling with social/emotional regulation and identity formation, adults with severe and persistent mental illness, and emerging young adults.

For the past few years I have had the opportunity to work with children and young people who are pursuing gender transition with Lurie’s Children Center. I provide counseling to these individuals with the awareness that identifying as genderfluid or trans or gay or lesbian or non-binary is a significant aspect of their identity and not be treated like ‘the problem’ that brought them to therapy. I provide a space for young people to claim themselves, their identities, their wishes, their fears as valuable. I work alongside these clients to uncover their resources and their needs. Some children I have worked with experience overwhelming pressure, loss, question self-worth, or struggle with fear and anxiety. They can work through a process of play and art making in therapy. In using their own hands to engage and create a child can connect to qualities that are essential to coping with stress, fear, and loss. I carefully listens to each client in order to guide the use of talking and creative making to meet the needs that emerge. Common issues that I can address with play and expressive arts therapy are anxiety, low self-esteem, navigating difficult life transitions, loss, overwhelming pressure, impulse control, and low frustration tolerance.

I love working with children and young people and use a variety of art mediums to help them find their voice and work out what is troubling them. Taking a person-centered approach I prioritize the pace of each individual I work with as we constructs a foundation of safety and curiosity. I specialize in helping children and young people understand their worries and uncover internal resources that allow them to respond more effectively. I prioritize getting to know the unique perspective of each child so the therapeutic relationship can be a source of learning and skill building. I use play, art, movement, and words to help children explore their anxieties and as well as their hopes and dreams.