I've been in private practice as a Marriage and Family Therapist for 26 years, working with a variety of clients in diverse settings. But that's only half of it.
Before becoming a therapist, I was a middle school teacher then a creative guide for a corporation, a college, and several non-profits, recognized with awards along the way.
Married for the second time, I was struggling with the culture shock of moving from the East Coast to Colorado, and struggling with the demise of my business as a freelancer. The turning point, though, was the tragic paralysis, inability to speak, and subsequent death, of a friend's child. Deeply moved, I looked for some meaning in this; I found none. It took a year to realize that I could do nothing about the past, making meaning only by moving forward.
I wanted to help those who metaphorically could not speak to be heard.
At midlife, I returned to school to become a therapist. I've learned where to find the sense of things, and how to cope when I can't – and to teach others what I’ve learned.
I have experience with the life-altering events of grief, chronic illness and disability:
- Past president of a coalition of grief counselors;
- Patient-direct hospice volunteer;
- Mental health provider for a state program for brain injured and their families;
- Mental health provider for a state vocational rehabilitation program;
- Developer of a local chapter of the Well Spouse Foundation;
- Board member for a retarded citizens organization, and;
- Executive Board member for a state-wide invisible disability association.
I help healthy individuals and couples get unstuck, teaching them communication and behavioral skills to keep them from getting stuck again. Healthy means no substance, physical, or emotional abuse.
- Certified Instructor for a national Couple Communication program;
- Certified Facilitator for a program to identify dysfunction for each member of a couple;
- Outcome-focused therapist;
- Member, National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine (NICABM);
- Clinical Fellow, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, and;
- Presenter for several national relationship organizations.
I have loved to teach, to guide, as a:
- Public school teacher;
- Mentor;
- Mental health provider for juvenile diversion;
- Children's instructor at an art school;
- Community college instructor, and;
- University adjunct professor.
I teach still, but to a different audience.
What guides my work is a strong belief that early experiences in our families have the biggest influence in answering the question, "Why do I do that?"
Blunt, funny, compassionate, and smart, I strive never to be like the kind of therapists I've had. I work hard to hear you, so you feel safe and supported.
Therapy is hard work for both of us but it's never my job to work harder than you do. Primarily through video meetings, I share my knowledge, and teach you real-life skills and tools. You bring honesty and commitment.
I can't wait to see what we will accomplish together!
Additional areas of focus: Stress, Anxiety, Family conflicts, Trauma and abuse, Intimacy-related issues, Parenting issues, Anger management, Career difficulties, Bipolar disorder, Coaching, Aging and geriatric issues, Caregiver issues and stress, Chronic pain, illness, and disability, Codependency, Commitment issues, Communication problems, Divorce and separation, Emptiness, Family of origin issues, Family problems, First responder issues, Hearing impaired, Hospice and end-of-life counseling, Isolation / loneliness, Life purpose, Men's issues, Midlife crisis, Military and veterans issues, Mood disorders, Self-love, Social anxiety and phobia, Women's issues, Young adult issues
Clinical approaches: Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Existential Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Internal Family Systems
CO LMFT MFT.0000500