Our present moment possibilities can be impacted by past experiences in positive and negative ways. We can uncover unconscious tendencies and experience new ways of being in a therapeutic relationship. Sometimes it is helpful, even necessary, to explore the way we carry our past forward. Especially when we find ourselves feeling and acting in habitual ways that may have once served a protective, adaptive function, but presently constricts life–in terms of how we relate towards ourselves and other people.
I received my B.A. degree from the University of Illinois, majoring in English and Psychology. After working as a counselor in residential treatment settings in Oregon, I returned to graduate school and completed my M.A. and PsyD in Clinical Psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology in San Diego. I have worked for a variety of nonprofits, such as the San Diego LGBT Center (2003-2004), Jewish Family Service of San Diego(2004-2010), and San Diego’s Survivors of Torture, International (2010-2013). I was a staff psychologist at the Student Health and Counseling Services of California State University, San Marcos (2012-2013) and have practiced in Champaign since 2014.
Currently, I work with older adolescents, adults, and with couples. My clinical interests are in mood and anxiety disorders, trauma, substance abuse, attachment and relationship problems, and integrating mindfulness and hypnotic approaches into psychotherapy. I am a licensed clinical psychologist in Illinois.