As an independently licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (PCC) with twenty years of diverse therapeutic experience, I’ve provided traditional in-office counseling and therapy, activity therapy, and coaching for adults, children, and employees. I specialize in helping clients regain their balance and define themselves, often in the midst of dizzying change and crisis. Once grounded, clients are able to redesign their lives in ways that allow them to feel more fully alive and productive.  I am a member of both the American Counseling Association and the International Association for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology.

My degrees include a Master's of Education in Counseling with Clinical Endorsement, and Bachelor's degrees in Psychology and Therapeutic Recreation. I also hold certification in world-renowned psychologist Martin Seligman’s “Authentic Happiness Coaching Program,” which is a set of highly researched strategies for helping clients increase their life satisfaction.

When I’m not working, I’m enjoying my daughters and our Quaker Parrot, Petrie, who, even at his young age, has no trouble articulating his wishes and demands to hear “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” before he climbs into his bed at night; Woody, our cat, who can make herself comfortable in literally any environment; and Molly, our dog who is dependably happy with herself – and with us – at all times. To replenish our energy, my family and I have also developed the tradition of spending one week each year in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where we bask in sun, natural splendor, and, bowing to the majority, deep-dish pizza. Beyond that, there are backyard birds, a piano, and detective stories – all folded into a life design that fits me.

A Little About Style

Quite simply, counseling and therapy transform lives.

The issues we address are serious, but that doesn’t mean the experience has to be heavy – far from it! Often, the most productive work is playful and highly creative. We work intensively – but lightly and with humor. Our conversations are frank and authentic. We apply every ounce of energy and focus as we partner, but we laugh, too.

When we make major changes in our lives, we often face realities that are painful, but the experience is less overwhelming with the focused presence of a therapist who never loses touch with the strength and potential behind the pain. By maintaining a focus on learning from each challenge, clients are able to take away new insights from past difficulties and become increasingly capable as a result.

The Importance of Being…

A simple principle guides our work together: that by fully defining and appreciating ourselves, we naturally become empowered to release our unique gifts and dreams into our work and our relationships, and to achieve joy and flow in our lives. I firmly believe that the people we care about are best served when we are acting from wholeness, not by our “playing a” in an attempt to please them. Only when we allow our individual sparks to glow is the Universe at its brightest.

Many of us are taught that being valued by others means leaving our selves behind. We quickly learn to act in ways that are inconsistent with our own beliefs and feelings in order to avoid displeasing people whom we love and need. What a paradox! For in order to be truly valued by another, we must present an authentic self, not a façade designed to avoid rejection. Only when we show others who we really are can we make true connections; yet it is our fear of disconnection that drives us to hide our real thoughts and feelings. What a joy to suddenly understand that fully becoming the person you are meant to be is the very best way to serve others!

The Marigold Theory

Coaching helps clients define themselves and eliminate the blocks to simply being. Once those blocks are gone, energy flows, ideas abound, and unexpected possibilities become visible. Suddenly the client can channel her energy into something that makes her heart leap, something that makes her smile inside and out. That makes me smile, too.

The Marigold Theory allows this to happen. I invented the Marigold Theory to make a point to a college psychology class I was teaching at the time. The idea is simple: When you drop a Marigold seed into the soil, it is genetically coded to grow into a Marigold. If you try to somehow coax it into becoming a Hollyhock, it will disappoint you and itself, and it may even die. Likewise, we are each born with a unique set of potentials. How sad if the Roses among us spend their lives trying to be Zinnias! The task of a coach is to get back to that original seed and to create an environment where its potential can be realized, an environment where it can bloom.

Fully Becoming: That is the goal of our work together.