Practice update

I am in solo private practice in downtown Enumclaw, Washington.  I offer telemental health counseling to residents of Washington state as well as in-person sessions to those who wish to travel to beautiful South King County.

Counseling is my passion and my calling.  I really love what I do.  Being a therapist has enriched my life through helping and learning alongside the great people I have come to know over the years.   

I am a Nationally Certified Counselor, Washington State Licensed Mental Health Counselor, member of the American Counseling Association and a member of the Washington Mental Health Counselors Association. My practice serves the Maple Valley, Black Diamond, Ravensdale, Enumclaw, Bonney Lake, Covington and surrounding areas.  Telemental health is available for those who reside in Washington State. 

 Not all counselors are alike.  We each bring our unique collection of education, experiences and personality into our offices.  I think my approach is best described as collaborative, educational and emapathetic.  Despite the seriousness of what brings people in to see me, I try to bring some levity and smiles into our time together.  I love education and spend time keeping my professional education current. My hope is to pass along any knowledge I have that may help you.   

 Individual, group, couples and family counseling services are available. I am able to offer some testing services so let me know if you'd like to discuss this.  I enjoy conducting workshops and presentations as well.  Additionally, I am an "Approved Supervisor" for Licensed Mental Health Counselors in Washington State.

I work with children, adolescents and adults.  When working with children under 13, I typically work with parents as well so the good work can continue in the home.  Issues I help people with range from mild to moderate stressors to serious emotional and mental health disturbances.  

One focus area of my practice is grief counseling and complicated grief/prolonged grief disorder.  If you believe your grief isn't subsiding or the grief you are experiencing is in relation to a serious trauma, please give me a call so we can determine if you are dealing with prolonged grief disorder.  

I also work with depression and mood disorders, anxiety disorders, relationships, pre-marital counseling, divorce and blended family matters, parenting skills, behavioral concerns, attachment, child loss, post-adoption adjustment and bonding, and life transitions.  I have experience working with children in the foster care system as well as post-adoption placements.  Clients have included individuals, couples, groups and families in a variety of settings including school, office, home, inpatient hospital and in the community.  

Graduating with my Master's Degree in Counseling in 1994, I have over 29 years of experience and training in cognitive-behavioral interventions, group therapy, grief work and more.  I've worked in agency, school, hospital and private practice settings. I received 3 years of post-graduate education in ecosystemic structural family therapy from Philadlephia Child Guidance (now known as the Philadelphia Child and Family Training Center) and am a "second generation Minuchin counselor."  Additionally, I obtained post-grauate training in Complicated Grief Therapy at Columbia University's Center for Complicated Grief in New York City.  I am a Distance Credentialed Counselor and able to provide telemental health services to individuals who reside in the state of Washington and provisionally with some other states.

I am availble for presentations on topics related to relationships, parenting, mental health topics, grief and loss. Most recently, I have been a repeat presenter at Camp Widow - San Diego as well as the Seabeck Grief Retreat sponsored by King County Widowed Information and Consultation Services and The Compassionate Friends.  In the past, I offered a free grief workshop series for seniors entitled "Good Grief."  

     Born and raised in Northwestern Pennsylvania, I attended undergraduate school in Ohio and received my Bachelors of Arts in Psychology from Hiram College.  Edinboro Univeristy of Pennsylvania awarded me the Honor Graduate Award in 1994 for my Masters of Arts in Counseling.  After beginning my career in Pennsylvania, primarily working in agencies and school settings, I moved to the East Bay of San Fransisco, worked in a psychiatric hospital in Valljeo and then became a stay at home mom to start a family. I was a Girl Scout leader for multiple troops and volunteered for my church and my college.  Unexpectedly, my husband passed away when my daughters were young and life took a turn which we weren't prepared for.  We relocated to the gorgeous Pacific Northwest and have enjoyed exploring the vast beauty of Washington as the children have grown up.

     My family is everything and we share big laughs and hugs every single day - not exaggerating. I love to travel, dabble in photography, video production and writing.  I have more fabric than I will ever quilt and hope to spend some time (eventually) finishing up a handful of projects that have accumulated over the years.  I have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and love to learn about lots of things. This makes the travel bug in me ever-hungry. I thrive around animals and nature and think that families need to play together often. Never lose your inner child!  I adore swimming and will most likely retire near a spectacular lap pool.  My mantra and prayer for humanity is: love.

This is me, age 7, trying to lure a grey squirrel for a close-up in Washington, D.C.  I had my first camera and had to take a picture of EVERYTHING!

Rivers run through Washington.  Green River

Sunset overlooking the coastline in Bandon, Oregon

Oregon coast west of Tillamook

Oregon coast

Olympic Penninsula 

Hawaiian sunset

Swimming and boarding with turtles in Hawaii

Ocean Shores, Washington

Palm trees swaying the breezes of Hawaii

Hawaii

Fresh flowers at Pike Place Market in Seattle

Holly in Washington 

Tidepool near Newport, Oregon

Northern Oregon coast

Forest near my home in Washington

View of Mount Rainier from Rt. 169 South

San Juan Islands

J-Pod cruising in the San Juan Islands

Turnagain Arm, Alaska

Whittier Glacier, Alaska

Oregon tidepool

Feral moa in parking lot in Hawaii

Wild dill in Washington

Lenticular clouds drifting from the peak of Mount Rainier as viewed from Enumclaw

Cliff diving vantage point in Hawaii (no we didn't...)

Palms growing out of the side of the single lane road on the cliffs on Kahekili Highway in Maui, Hawaii. 

Yes, we drove the one lane road.  We thought we were going to die.  By the grace of God, we didn't.

Yes, I can now accomplish anything.

Little bit of Heaven