Training and Degrees
I have a Post-Master’s Certificate (PMC) in Pastoral Counseling, which is a mental health counseling degree with a specialization in the areas of spirituality and theology. I also have a Master’s of Divinity (M.Div), giving me extensive training in the areas of theology and congregational ministry. I am an ordained minister through the American Baptist Churches, U.S.A. Both of these degrees I received from Seattle University’s School of Theology and Ministry. I have a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Psychology from Seattle Pacific University. What drew me to this field is my interest in how religion/theology/belief impacts our individual psychology and can create/perpetuate intergenerational trauma.
Prior to beginning my private practice in 2010, I worked at an intensive outpatient clinics supporting individuals, families and couples. I also have experience working
with Seattle’s homeless population providing supportive and group therapy services to individuals suffering from addiction and chronic mental illness. During my training in congregational ministry, I also worked with the terminally ill at Providence Hospice of Seattle.
I continue to learn and grow through my own professional consultation, therapy, and continued education. My own life (the good and the bad) has also been “my curriculum” to use Ram Dass’s adage. My experience as a parent has also been pivotal in helping me become a better therapist and vice versa. In addition to being a psychotherapist, I own a seasonal gardening company which grounds me and brings me great joy.
“…have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.”
-Rainer Maria Rilke