A Board Certified Dance Movement Therapist, Approved Clinical Supervisor, Licensed Professional Counselor, National Certified Counselor, Aquatic Therapy Rehab Institute Certified Aquatic Rehabilitation Specialist, Advanced Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality Trained, Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality Certified, Certified Sex Therapy Informed Professional, Certified Grief Informed Professional and Dora Approved Non-MFT Supervisor. I am a neurodiverse, differently abled, queer, Mississippi native with a BA in Dance Therapy from Naropa University in Boulder and a MA in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling from Antioch University New England in New Hampshire. I am honored to have been providing not accepting but AFFIRMING mental health care for 18+years in a variety of settings in several states. I am a sex positive, kink and poly affirming provider. As a queer partner and parent of 2 amazing queer teens I have lived experience in addition to my clinical experience.
I work with families, individuals, relationships and groups of all ages combining a variety of therapeutic techniques to meet the specific needs of my clients. I am happy to coordinate care with medical providers in support of my clients, including writing letters for gender affirming care. I have earned the Violet benchmark of Excellent, their top benchmark, in all three of their measures. (Violet Benchmarks measure an individual provider’s ability to deliver culturally competent care to patients in three distinct communities (LGBQ, TGNC, and BIPOC)). I am proud to have founded an explicitly affirming group practice that has also earned these levels of achievement with Violet, a CAMS Approved Clinic and proud member of the Colorado LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce, The Colorado Neurodivergent Chamber of Commerce and supporter/provider of the Hidden Disability Sunflower.
I have presented at mental health conferences on the local, state and national levels, community-based workshops and pop culture conventions. Settings I have worked in include private practice, outpatient day treatment for adolescents, nursing homes, and locked units at state hospitals, all where I advocated for affirming care.
I was American Dance Therapy Association’s (ADTA) 2014 Outstanding Achievement award recipient for my work creating the Southern Chapter and was their 1st president. I am currently the Chair of the ADTA Nominating Committee. I have been active with the Multicultural Diversity Committee for more than a decade. The Affinity groups I am a part of within the ADTA are the Native American, Disability Awareness and Spirituality and Religion Affinity Groups. I am a past Rocky Mountain Chapter President and Vice President as well as a past ADTA Western Region Member at Large.
I use dance therapy to address a variety of needs from working with anxiety and stress reduction to processing trauma along with ways to increase interpersonal connection. Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) is the psychotherapeutic use of movement to further the emotional, cognitive, physical and social integration of the individual. I also combine the psychotherapeutic benefits of dance therapy with the physical therapy aspects of aquatic rehabilitative therapy with Aquatic DMT. In addition my eclectic approach also includes Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy from a Rogerian perspective.
As a lifelong comic book reader and sci-fi fan, I also advocate for geek culture as positive for mental health and draw from this experience to help clients on their journey. I feel therapy is not about fitting the client into my mold or approach but rather finding tools to fit the client’s needs.