Regardless of your past, current symptoms or habits, you have a natural and innate capacity to grow and to change. This is simply what it means to be human. The challenge is often getting out of our own way. 

My intention in working with individuals is to promote self-understanding and concrete skill-building, such that each person owns their agency, and trusts their resilience. This leads to a relaxed confidence that is built from the inside out (rather than the outside in).

I am honest, light-hearted, and no-nonsense in my approach. I believe that establishing a genuine, human-to-human connection with each client is key to supporting their long-term change. When vulnerabilities and challenges arise in one-on-one or in team-based sessions, I approach them with curiosity and openness. By inviting individuals to name exactly what they want for themselves and to clarify what is getting in the way, change is less about trying to "fix" oneself, and instead is more about welcoming a fuller and healthier version of oneself.

My hope is that each individual walks away from sessions feeling empowered by two things: 1) a deep understanding of themselves, and 2) an internalized set of skills that enables them to re-wire and let go of unhelpful patterns. With research informing everything I do and skill-building at the heart of my work, clients learn to stop working against themselves and to start working within themselves.

Bio: My training and background is in clinical psychology, integrative medicine, mindfulness-based stress reduction, performance enhancement, and trauma-informed body-based therapy. When we sit down and take an honest look at what is difficult in our lives, we are inevitably met with a yearning for “something more” – more joy, more intimacy, more happiness, more time, more space, more confidence, more aliveness, etc. That “something” is unique to each person. Identifying it is usually not the hard part, rather knowing how to get there is the real challenge. This is where my work comes in. 

I collaborate with individuals to support them in better understanding how their present-moment thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations are shaping their lives. I focus on these areas because it is where we have the greatest ability to make meaningful change. I work from a bottom-up physiological approach, meaning I help individuals become more aware of why they feel what they feel; and from a top-down cognitive approach, highlighting how thoughts, beliefs, and perceptions shape the stories that we tell ourselves. Our brain is an incredibly sophisticated organ that communicates with our nervous system and the entire body. Understanding the physiology of how the mind and body are in communication with each other is often the key that unlocks change.

As a former Division One athlete, I am also keenly aware of the pressures associated with performance. My personal life experiences and clinical experiences equip me with the skills to work with individuals who are feeling “stuck.” Through a body-based approach, I help support athletes, business professionals, and performers of all types move beyond their fears and achieve their full potential.

Additionally, I have a background in research with 7+ years of overseeing mindfulness-based curriculum design and content development for academic and medical institutions including Northwestern University, Michigan State University, The Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Cook County Hospital and NorthShore University HealthSystem. To learn more about my role in research studies, see Research.