I heard it for the first time as an art history student planning to become a professor and theorist. I could not have anticipated the path that would lead me from that small Midwestern art studio to running the mental health services for the student athletes at the University of Washington. It was certainly not straight, and yet it is more fulfilling than any version I had originally envisioned. My therapy practice is centered around those unexpected transitions. I work best with driven people experiencing a big change. Perhaps, despite your best efforts, things aren’t working out as you’d hoped. Or perhaps you’ve gotten all you wanted and it doesn’t satisfy the way you assumed it would.

I spent the first decade of my career working with first generation college students, many of whom were not only first in their family to get degrees but did so on full ride scholarships to their dream schools. They were exactly where they worked their entire life to be, and yet they often struggled with feelings of depression, anxiety and alienation. I now work with college and professional athletes. They are by definition the peak of physicality and yet some struggle to look at their own bodies in the mirror. I’ve seen first hand that achievement does not always yield fulfillment, and the pressure to maintain that level of performance, particularly in an arena your community may not have context for, can be isolating and draining.

I am trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy, an evidence-based practice that focuses on Mindfulness, Emotion Regulation, Distress Tolerance and Interpersonal Effectiveness. I work with you to find the balance of thoughts, feelings and skills to build a life worth living beyond grades, trophies or awards.