My Story
After a career in corporate and non-profit jobs, I changed directions to become a licensed marriage and family therapist. I find great meaning in talking with others immersed in the messiness, rawness, pain and beauty of life. I am passionate about learning and I am passionate about helping others heal and grow.
I have experienced great joys in life, and also great challenges and tragedies. I believe I can use my familiarity with many of the difficult parts of life to better understand and empathize with my clients. My clients often say they feel I "get" them. And I do.
I am in my 50's, with a husband and three grown children. I love humor (although my family would say I love bad humor). I have lived in Santa Cruz for over 20 years. I love living here for the people, the community, the weather and the beauty of nature, and plan to never leave.
Professional Certifications
Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, International Association of Trauma Professionals, 2019
Selected Trainings
The Compassionate Brain, Rick Hanson
Radical Acceptance, Tara Brach
The Power of Awareness, Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach
Compassion Focused Therapy, Paul Gilbert
Mindful Compassionate Dialogue, LaShelle Lowe-Charde
The Clinicial Application of Compassion, Dan Seigel, Krisin Neff, Paul Gilbert, Kelly McGonigal
The Body Keeps the Score (trauma), Bessel van der Kolk
Compassion-based Trauma Therapy, Dan Seigel, Stephen Porges, Paul Gilbert, Kristin Neff,
Dennis Tirch, Jack Kornfield, Christopher Germer, Deborah Lee
How to Implement Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Aspira
EMDR, Step by Step, Linda Curran, Peter Levine, Janina Fisher, Babette Rothschild
Trauma and Mindfulness, John Briere
Reparenting for Resiliency (developmental trauma), Robbyn Peters-Bennett
Treatment Resistant Depression, Richard Sinacola
Internal Family Systems and Complex Trauma, Stan Einhorn
Attachment, Trauma and Psychotherapy, Dan Siegel
Treating Trauma Master Series, NICABM
Psycho-neurology Study Group, Francine Lapides
Interpersonal Neurobiology and Couples, Dan Siegel, John Gottman, Julie Gottman
Focusing, Levels 1-4, Ann Weiser Cornell
Focusing Alone, Ann Weiser Cornell
Nonviolent Communication International Intensive Training, Marshall Rosenberg
When Grief is Complicated, Hospice Foundation of America
Transforming Loss: Finding Potential for Growth, Hospice Foundation of America
Helping Families Cope with Conflict at the End of Life, Hospice Foundation of America
Beyond Kubler-Ross: New Perspectives on Death and Dying, Hospice Foundation of America
Death, Dying and Mourning, The American Academy of Grief Counseling
Grief Therapy, The American Academy of Grief Counseling
Working with Grieving Children, The American Academy of Grief Counseling
Bereavement after Suicide, Dr. John Jordan, American Association of Suicidology